Panacea
by reddwarfaddict
Summary: {Memento 2} On a mission to cure his paralysis, the Doctor heads with Jack to the most renowned clinic in the universe, where he meets a very old friend. But with Rose one step ahead and trying to kill him, the threat to the Doctor and his family has never been so personal. [Major Whump: Ten]
1. Welcome to Pleaneas

**A/N:** I know , it took a while, but I'm back! :D Welcome one, welcome all. This is a continuation of the current 'Memento' series, which is a continuation of the 'Destiny' series, which is all ridiculously long and very intense. But have no fear, because despite its length, if you're interested, there is a document (linked on my profile) with extended summaries of everything that's been so far to get you all up to track in the events of this series.

This world is a post JE A/U, which has been and will always remain a series which utilises the very best of the entire DW history in all its glorious comic, book, TV, and audio forms in a very whumpy and _slightly _smutty way, into a very new universe.

For those who don't remember, here is a short summary of the events in Memento:

Previously...

_The Doctor wakes up, imprisoned in a place he doesn't know, with his last memory being of the end of the Time War. The only person with him is Jack Harkness; a man he can't remember, but who claims to be his friend. Jack proceeds to tell the Doctor the story of how they ended up in the cell:_

_Since Rose killed Tony in The Ten Keys of the Moirai, she's been having recurring nightmares. To help his heavily-pregnant wife mentally cope, the Doctor researches becoming a 'Dream Guardian' - a being inside Rose's dreams who can help to fight her nightmares through the bond they share. The initial attempt to be a Dream Guardian is successful, and continues to be successful for a while after and effectively wards off Rose's nightmares._

_While the Doctor, Jack, and Leah are out on a Torchwood mission, Rose goes into labour. The childbirth trauma for the Doctor is the worst it's ever been and the people at Torchwood are forced to give him the pill created by Braxiatel, which helps. After an arduous labour, Rose eventually gives birth to a boy - Theo. The Doctor swears to never have another child, and he and Rose start looking for alternatives to stop them having anymore children._

_As they look after their new baby boy, it becomes clear that an organisation - the Bar'zellis - from the criminal planet Sirrus are looking to abduct their son. In an effort to escape, the Doctor takes his family on an extended holiday, but after a year while shopping for souvenirs on a remote planet, the Bar'zellis return. The Doctor is shot at point blank range with a stun gun and Theo is kidnapped, while Leah is sent back to Torchwood in the TARDIS._

_Two months later, the Doctor wakes up in the company of Rose, who has been living rough on the planet and has become almost unrecognisable to him. Unable to contact Torchwood, they hatch a plan to get to Sirrus and save their son. They reach Sirrus, where they discover in the Doctor's thirty year absence he has become a God for the people due to the events of Co-consciousness. Ignoring this for now, they pursue Theo and get to the Bar'zelli territory. Back in the dream world with Jack, the Doctor realises Rose's erratic behaviour in his memories is due to a telepathic disease he accidentally gave her, which is slowly destroying her brain._

_In the memories, Rose is becoming increasingly more volatile, but the Doctor continues regardless, leading them both to the Bar'zelli HQ where Theo is being held. They enter undercover and find him. But on the escape attempt, the leader of the Bar'zellis - Bac'ou - anticipates their every move and successfully captures the Doctor. To ensure the Time Lord's permanent death, Bac'ou uses a slave wristband to slice the Doctor's artery and inject a poison. However, something explodes and the entire cell block is consumed in fire. While dying, the Doctor struggles to his son's room in an effort to save him. Rose enters, but leaves without acknowledging the Doctor, who is bleeding to death. She leaves him and their fourteen-month-old son to die, and disappears._

_Back in the dream world with Jack, the Doctor realises that he's been reliving his last moments. The dream world he's in is his own subconscious, and he's actually dead from blood loss. The disease affecting Rose is inside his head due to the bond and desperately trying to take over his body. He denies it taking him over, and decides to fight to live._

_The Bar'zelli agent who shot the Doctor returns to save him and Theo from the fire, taking them back to Torchwood. The Doctor revives and is saved, spending two weeks in hospital. The blood loss and poison has caused him to become paralysed in his left arm with little chance of recovery. He returns to Torchwood, resolving to save Rose from the disease._

_To try and cure his paralysis, he decides to visit a well-known advanced space clinic known as Pleaneas, and invites Jack to go with him. However, at the exact moment he asks Jack, it is revealed Rose is already on Pleaneas, and has saved the life of Bac'ou. She correctly anticipates the Doctor will arrive soon. Rose and Ba'cou form an allegiance to takes down the Doctor._

* * *

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Pleaneas

The entire place, the Doctor recalled, had been on fire.

The memory came back in a rush of emotions and furore. There'd been smoke billowing with people screaming for help, and he'd wanted so badly to aid them. But he couldn't. He'd been fatally wounded. He hadn't known at the time, but by that point he'd already lost half of his blood volume, with most of it ebbing out on the ground beneath him staining his shirt and trousers in a deep crimson dye that was embedded so deeply not even the most high tech Time Lord technology would be able to get out.

He found it a little strange that he'd been so utterly mesmerised by the feeling of sweat dripping down from his chin to dilute the pool of blood, turning it rapidly from tomato ketchup to strawberry cordial. He'd laughed a little at that. Why exactly had he found that so fascinating?

He remembered, with a strange sort of acceptance, that he hadn't been able to move. As he'd kept bleeding, the use of his limbs had quickly vanished, leaving him lying there utterly helpless. His eyes were stinging, and his right hand, which had fallen in front of him when he'd fallen, was caked in soot. He'd had an urge to clean it because it was dirty and unhygienic, but he hadn't been able to even lift a finger.

When he'd tried to steel himself and get some air, there had been absolutely nothing to breathe. Just smoke. He'd coughed, gasping, before it had all faded out as his lungs gave up trying to take anything useful in.

He'd been dying. He remembered being extremely aware of that. But it somehow hadn't even mattered - he hadn't been thinking about his own plight. He'd been thinking about his fourteen-month-old son. The little blond-haired and brown-eyed boy who was just half a metre away from him, sitting propped up against the wall, unconscious.

There wasn't much feeling of pain, suffocation, heat, or panic. Just despair. Despair that he couldn't save his son's life. Despair of the inevitability that the boy was going to burn to death, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He'd already exhausted all of his reserves. That clichéd spurt of super strength in life or death situations which people talked about had been and gone already. Now, there was nothing left.

He knew at that point he'd already decided he wasn't going to regenerate. He'd known he wouldn't be able to live with the memory that was about to be created. A memory of his son burning to death. So, he'd accepted that he was going to die. Finally.

He wondered about that, now. Had that decision been a bit selfish, or just practical?

That was when she'd arrived, stepping gracefully down from the broken viewing window to land her foot directly in front of his half-dead body, splashing in his self-made puddle of blood. He'd recognised the shoe, despite the pattern of his blood now staining the white fabric. Nike. That only meant one person.

He'd been completely unable to move his head, but the angle on which he'd fallen meant a quick movement of his eyes was enough to see her, albeit, upside down. But she'd been radiating, with a warm, friendly glow. In his dying mind, she seemed to be like an angel.

That feeling of pure despair had suddenly vanished. Replaced by a feeling he liked. Relief. It was going to be okay. That feeling, he had mused, was a feeling he wasn't _that _used to having. Normally _he _was the one who provided that feeling. Now, it had been her turn. But he'd known she'd manage it. He'd believed in her.

He'd waited patiently for her to sort everything out.

'Rose,' he'd gasped out.

A few idle seconds had passed by. She'd completely ignored him. That had been a little puzzling, but he hadn't dwelled on it too much. She'd been moving to their son. Prioritising. Yes. Theo first, then him.

She'd knelt down to their son, checking his pulse on his neck. She'd then nodded, brushing back his blond hair, before kissing his forehead and gathering him up into a hug. The fire had continued to rage, and he'd continued to bleed. He'd known she'd needed to move quickly.

'Rose,' he'd gasped again as a prompt. It was all he'd been able to manage.

She'd then pulled back. She still hadn't been looking at him.

'It hasn't worked.'

Her voice had been so soft and frighteningly calm in the situation.

'What?' he'd managed to get out. His left arm had vigorously spasmed as an extra spurt of blood came out of the wound on his wrist like a tiny water fountain. Things had suddenly become a lot more blurry.

She'd still not looked at him. 'I thought gettin' Theo back would make it better.'

'Make what ... better!?' he'd groaned.

Once again, she'd completely ignored him, wrapping her arms around the boy again. Her fists had been tightly clenched with her knuckles a striking snow white, with her entire body shaking as though she'd been crying. But she hadn't been.

'It's not better, it's not better … make it stop, Doctor.'

He'd felt a wash of blackness cascade through his brain, threatening to grab his ankle in cold, slimy fingers and drag him down to death. He'd resisted, blinking furiously to keep himself awake. 'I will, I will … just tell me ... what's w-wrong. But w-we have to … To run first …'

She'd suddenly let go of their son, and slowly, deliberately, and with absolute precision, she'd twisted her head to look straight at him. The face that had met him had abruptly turned what was left of his blood to ice. Her eyes had been cold, her jaw had been clenched, her face had been completely impassive.

It had been like looking into the face of the Devil.

'What …' he'd breathed. His body has started spasming again, and he could only seem to flail as she'd stepped over him, and walked calmly back to the viewing window as the fire had licked around her.

He hadn't been able to understand what the hell was going on.

'Rose, p-please,' he'd whined desperately. The ferocious combination of smoke, heat, pain, and complete shock at what was happening had suddenly overwhelmed him, causing tears to run down his face, mingling with the thick layer of soot on his cheeks to create pure black tears.

Suddenly, she'd stopped walking. A flash of hope had shot through him as his vision had started to fade, blur and merge together the extreme colour combination of yellow fire, red blood, black soot, and Rose's shockingly white face now turned in his direction. Through the stench of burnt bodies came that particular sandalwood smell, seemingly emanating from the woman he'd spent such an important part of his life with.

'H-help us,' he'd begged, _pleading _with her.

For a moment, she'd lingered, just staring at him, as though trying to make a decision about what she was going to have for dinner.

Then, she'd turned, and left him and their son to die.

* * *

'Doctor.'

The Doctor snapped out of his memory, interrupted by a loud voice just a few feet away. The shock caused him to jump slightly and throw out his arm to protect his son sitting next to him - a feeling which collapsed into slight embarrassment as he registered Jack, who held up his hands in a surrendering motion.

'Sorry, didn't mean to shock you,' Jack said.

'Don't creep up on people like that,' the Doctor complained, trying to make light of his reaction. Thankfully, Jack went along with it.

'Yeah, sorry, bad habit,' he joked, and took the seat opposite him in the passenger lounge. He placed a chocolate-flavoured keggleshake on the table and pushed it to the Doctor. 'Got you this.'

The Doctor shook his head, and pushed it back. 'No, thanks.'

'You look terrible,' Jack said, pushing the shake back insistently. 'I _know _chocolate is medicinal for you, have some.'

'But I _feel_ fine,' the Doctor answered, pushing it back again.

'Yeah, I doubt that,' Jack said, but gave up and pushed it to the boy instead. 'Theo, try this.'

The little boy looked over the edge of the table, peering inquisitively at the keggleshake. 'What?' he asked.

'It's a shake, you'll like it,' Jack said, smiling.

The Doctor picked up the shake and held it for his son to gulp down through the straw. After a few mouthfuls, the little boy looked delighted. 'Is nice, 'n kinda bubbles-y.'

As Theo sucked contentedly on the straw, Jack looked back to the Doctor, who was staring at his paralysed arm draped across the table.

'Still got nothing?' Jack asked.

The Doctor paused for a moment, still staring at his left arm. He tried to lift a finger, but he couldn't even make one twitch. 'Nothing,' he said.

They briefly fell silent, with just the sound of Theo and the bustling crowds around them waiting for passage to the clinic.

'You're not yourself,' Jack said suddenly.

'And what is "myself"?' the Doctor wondered seriously.

'Being this slightly mental, lanky, funny, ego-centric and annoying person, who you kinda wanna punch and kiss at the same time,' Jack replied.

'Sorry, I'll try to annoy you more,' the Doctor said airily.

Jack rolled his eyes and changed the subject. 'Where's Leah?'

'Looking at the fish,' the Doctor replied, pointing to his six-year-old daughter currently staring into a futuristic tank filled with strange alien fish with her nose pressed against the glass. The Doctor and Jack watched as one of the fish neared the glass, and suddenly opened a massive mouth lined with extremely sharp-looking teeth. It snapped its jaws right where Leah's nose was. Leah immediately shrieked and jumped back.

Jack laughed. Leah turned to them, clearly embarrassed.

'I wasn't scared!' the girl insisted.

'Of course not,' Jack said insincerely.

Leah ignored him and ran off into the crowd of aliens.

'Don't go too far!' the Doctor cried quickly, but she was already gone. He immediately made to get up.

'Doctor,' Jack said quickly, his hand quickly taking hold of the Time Lord's. 'She's fine.'

The Doctor paused, clearly wrestling with his conscience. He then sat down again, but remained almost completely rigid.

Jack regards him for a moment. 'Talk to me.'

'Honest, I'm fine,' the Doctor said.

'Y'know, I promised Martha this morning with all this Rose stuff I wouldn't let you go back to being that breathing brick wall you used to be.'

'Sorry,' the Doctor said again, but said nothing else.

'I'm gonna assume you haven't told Leah about Rose.'

The Doctor hesitated. 'I … I did, but I was … very unspecific on the details,' he confessed.

'You need to tell Leah.'

'I know,' the Doctor muttered, sighing. 'But how?'

'Just tell her the truth,' Jack replied honestly. 'She's smart, Doc, and you'll need her help if you're going to fix this and get our Rose back.'

The Doctor sighed, and looked at his paralysed arm again. 'So I'm supposed to tell Leah that Rose did this to me. That she left me and our one-year-old son to die. She's now who knows where, doing who knows what, with a plan to destroy me and the entire universe, with six months until her brain illness kills her. Oh, and that it's all my fault.'

'For the hundredth time, it's not your fault,' Jack insisted. 'And remember, Leah's not just your kid, Doc, she's Rose's too. This is just as important for Leah as it is for you. Maybe even more. You need to tell her everything.'

The Doctor fell silent, just staring unblinkingly at the table.

'Think about it,' Jack advised. 'Just let me know if you need me to help. I'll get us registered for passage to the clinic.' He left to the passenger desk.

_He dead right, Doctor. _Rose's voice came into his head, put together by his own subconscious. _You can't let me take them. You've gotta be totally honest with her._

He ignored his subconscious and quickly looked for a distraction, ending up staring at a nearby screen that was rolling an information video.

_'Welcome to Pleaneas,' _a calm, soft, female voice said. _'The universe's most advanced medical facility. From our humble beginnings as a small clinic in the grubia system run by Doctor Pleaneas, we've steadily grow into an award-winning planet-wide medical facility, where we've been at the forefront of medical treatment across the universe for thousands of years.'_

The image changed from a spinning logo to some video of doctors tending to patients with smiles on their faces.

_'At Pleaneas, we care about your health. Our top of the range and cutting edge treatment and technology has been thoroughly researched by our special team of scientists to make sure you are up and about as soon as possible. We're developing new treatments all the time to continually improve our services.'_

The image then changed to a very complex-looking computer.

_'Pleaneas is also home to the universe's most advanced medical computer, known as Panacea. An interactive supercomputer with adaptive and predictive learning and knowledge of every known physical and mental condition and the most effective treatments.'_

It then showed the area they were in - the station where people were processed and attained passage to Pleaneas.

_'Your initial payment will cover your entry fee, lodgings, food, accommodation for any guests staying with you, the initial examination, and any treatments given by Panacea for the first three days. After which, additional charges will apply. We can accept payment through card, gift cards, biochip, thought transmission, chukka credits, or deeds including property, assets, or living assets.'_

'What does that mean?' Leah suddenly asked with her head popping up from the other side of the table. The Doctor nearly jumped out of his skin.

'What does what mean?' he asked.

'Living assets.'

The Doctor winced. 'Payment in pets … or people you may own.'

'Oh,' she said, and jumped up to sit opposite him and stare at the rolling information video as it showed a very clean and white room with a sleeping pod and a spectacular view.

_'Pleaneas caters for both long term and short term patients, with fully equipped living quarters for those looking towards a longer stay with us, and comprehensive facilities for family and friends joining you on your journey of recovery.'_

'Is that where me and Theo and Uncle Jack are going to be?' Leah wondered.

'Probably,' the Doctor said, 'but hopefully we won't be staying that long.'

Leah looked at his numb arm. 'But I read all the books about being paralysed in the Tardis library and they all said there isn't a proper cure ever developed for construct seven lifeforms.'

'This place has experimental treatments and my system's highly adaptive, so the good news is we might get lucky,' the Doctor said.

'Okay,' she said as the video reverted back to the logo, turning slowly on a white background.

_'Pleaneas. We care about you.'_

The image faded to white, and Leah's attention moved back to her father. 'What d'you think they'll do to try and fix your arm?'

'Not sure. Maybe some therapy or nerve implants,' he said.

'Then we'll go find mummy?'

'Yeah.'

'What's happened to her? You said she needed fixing. Is she hurt?'

The Doctor felt his hearts simultaneously seize up. 'In a way, yes.'

'But how?'

The Doctor hesitated again.

_Tell her, _his subconscious told him in Rose's voice.

'Why won't you tell me?' Leah asked. 'I'm grown up and I can handle it.'

'I know, I'm sorry. It's just …'

There was a nearby crash as something suddenly dropped, making everyone in the room jump in alarm. Theo shrieked and dived under the table, clinging to the keggleshake and balling himself into the fetal position. Someone called out an apology and the bustle around them resumed, but Theo remained under the table.

'It's okay,' Leah informed her little brother, ducking her head under the table. 'Someone just dropped something.'

'I don't like here, is too big room and too big noise,' Theo said, sobbing.

The Doctor ducked his head under the table too. 'Come on, Theo. Nothing out here's going to hurt you.'

Theo rapidly shook his head and curled up even tighter.

The Doctor internally sighed, his hearts hurting slightly of how much abduction and captivity had done to his son mentally, turning him from an adventurous and happy boy to one almost scared of his own shadow. 'Okay, you come out when you're ready. But remember I'm here, and even if there was anything out here that would hurt you - which there isn't - I wouldn't let it get near you.'

'Me either!' Leah concurred.

The boy didn't move. The Doctor took a seat again at the table.

'Why is he so scared of everything?' Leah asked quietly. 'He didn't used to be.'

'He spent three months being confined to one room, and he doesn't remember much before that. He's not used to seeing so many people and having so much space and freedom and new sights and sounds - that makes him scared. It's overwhelming him a little.'

'But he'll get better?'

'Yeah, we've just got to normalise it for him,' the Doctor replied. 'He's just had extremely restricted experiences for three months.'

'So we'll get the old Theo back?'

'Yeah.'

'How long?'

'Well, he's already managed to relearn a lot of English in just a few days, so hopefully he can adapt quickly.'

Leah nodded as Jack called over from the desk. 'Guys, we're up!'

* * *

After managing to entice Theo out with the promise of sweets, the Doctor, Leah, and one terrified little boy joined Jack at the admissions desk where a young male lallan was sitting at a very futuristic-looking computer.

'Good morning, welcome to Pleaneas,' the young man greeted. 'How many are in your party, today?'

'Four,' Jack replied.

'And how many of you are existing registered patients with us?'

'None.'

'Thank you,' the man said, tapping the data into his computer. 'First of all we'll take payment before we get everyone scanned and classified into patient and visitor categories. The fee is 5000 credits per patient and 2500 per visitor, or any equivalent in gift cards, chukka credits, or deeds including property, assets, or living assets.'

The Doctor immediately whipped out his psychic paper. 'Oh, we're exempt.'

The man frowned, and looked at the psychic paper curiously. 'I do apologise, sir. Everything seems to be in order here. Please go through and queue for the next desk, where your party will be scanned and classified.'

'Thanks,' the Doctor replied, leading his group forward to join a queue leading up to a very complex-looking airport security-style machine. They all watched as people of various species stepped through the scanner one by one.

'What are they doing?' Leah asked.

'Separating patients and visitors, and classifying patients by degree of severity with a quick scan,' the Doctor replied. 'There's five categories, going from having a mild cold to being dead.'

'A bit pointless scanning the dead people,' Jack mused.

The Doctor smiled a little as the queue moved and they reached the next desk.

'Good morning,' a woman said politely. 'Could I take the names of your party, please?'

'The Doctor, Jack Harkness, Leah Tyler, Theo Tyler,' the Doctor replied, pointing at everyone in turn.

'Thank you. Could you each step through the scanner one at a time? There will be a short flash as the scanner detects your species and any physical ailments you have. Mental conditions will be assessed later.'

The Doctor led the way, using his crutch the propel himself through the scanner. As promised, there was a short burst of blue light, and the scanner beeped.

'The scanner has listed you as a hominidae variation, and a category three patient. Is this correct?'

'Yep,' the Doctor agreed.

Leah went through next, almost skipping.

'The scanner has listed you as a hominidae variation, with no physical conditions and as a visitor. Is this correct?'

'Um, yeah,' Leah agreed, stopping next to her dad.

'Your turn, Theo,' Jack encouraged, ruffling the boy's blond hair. He looked terrified.

'It's okay Theo,' the Doctor assured him.

The one-year-old toddled through the scanner, jumping slightly at the flash of light. He moved as fast as he could to his father, hugging his leg and burying his head into the fabric of his trousers.

'The scanner has listed you as a hominidae variation, with no physical conditions and a visitor. Is this correct?'

'Yes,' the Doctor supplied for Theo.

Jack went through next. The scanner flashed, and suddenly there was a beeping alarm from the computer. The woman at the desk looked very puzzled.

'Problem?' Jack wondered.

'It's registering you as category five,' the woman said, confused. 'That shouldn't happen.'

'What's category five mean?' Leah asked.

'Uncle Jack's dead, apparently,' the Doctor told her. She giggled.

'If you'd like to try again,' the woman invited, 'I'll reset the scanner.'

Jack stepped through again to the sound of yet another beeping error.

'I'm so sorry, this has never happened before,' the woman apologised. 'I'll have to put you through as category five for the patient transport, and it should automatically correct itself at the other end. If you'd all like to go through to the next section, you'll be sorted for transport.'

They obligingly moved through and joined a new queue that was incredibly long. Leah ran off to explore the new area as Theo stayed put, clinging to his dad's trousers.

'So what happens when we get to the clinic?' Jack asked.

'I thought you said you'd been here before?' the Doctor wondered.

'I said I'd heard of it, I've never been here,' Jack corrected. 'Why did you come here?'

'I was visiting someone I knew,' the Doctor replied. 'He'd accidentally detonated a genetic bomb and wiped out half of his cell chromosomes.'

'Wow,' Jack said. 'So you've never been a patient?'

'Nope,' the Doctor said, and gestured around. 'They didn't have all this last time I was here. Bit more, um, barebones. Which is a bit strange.'

'How?'

'Well … I'll be here a few hundred years from now.'

'So?'

'So if this is supposed to be a state of the art clinic, with a special computer as a piece of breakthrough medical technology that's going to be the foundation of future medical science across the entire universe, then why have I never heard of it?'

Jack sighed. 'Oh, please. No.'

'What?'

'This happens every single time.'

'What does?'

'I bet you anything that we're about to come up against a crazy computer that nearly kills us.'

'What makes you say that?'

'Well, it happens _every time _you say that,_' _Jack pointed out. 'Usually if you've not heard of something that means we'll be breaking it in a few hours.'

'All I'm saying is I've never heard of it,' the Doctor insisted, his hand in the air. 'Maybe it just didn't take off. Maybe it just didn't have adequate promotion in the timeframe I was in. More posters needed, probably.'

'Probably,' Jack echoed, sounding somewhat unconvinced. They finally reached the last desk.

'The Doctor's party?' the man asked.

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed.

'Thank you. Here are your infowatches, where all of the information you need for your stay, including room numbers and appointment bookings, which can be voice-accessed.' The man handed over four sleek and slim black watches to the Doctor. 'You and Mr Harkness will be taking the patient transport, and Miss Tyler and Mr Tyler are booked in for the visitor transport.'

The Doctor frowned. 'Wait, we're on different transports?'

'I'm afraid patients are not able to take transport with visitors,' the man said.

'But they're children,' Jack pointed out. 'You can't separate them from us.'

'I'm sorry,' the man said, genuinely sincere. 'But we have systems in place that don't allow for it. Please don't worry, we have qualified child minders on the visitor ship and extra security.'

'Daddy, what's going on?' Leah wanted to know, hanging upside-down from one of the rails nearby.

'Hold on,' the Doctor directed at Leah, and then looked back at the man and shook his head. 'Can't you make an exception?'

'Then I'm afraid there's nothing we can do, sir,' the man said. 'If you're not boarding, could you please leave the queue so that I can process our other patients?'

Leah skipped over to join them. 'Are we going in or not?'

'They won't let you and Theo on the transport with us,' the Doctor told her. 'You'd have to go in another ship on your own.'

'That's okay,' Leah insisted. 'I'll look after Theo, mmkay?'

'I can't leave you,' the Doctor insisted.

'We'll be okay,' the little girl maintained. 'I'm his big sister so I'll protect him.'

'I can't let you. I … I need you with me.'

'But if we don't go, then we can't fix your arm and find mummy,' Leah insisted. 'You need to get better.'

'She's right, Doctor,' Jack agreed. 'Come on, it's just a few hours. No one's going to get taken in a few hours.'

'It only took ten seconds before,' the Doctor muttered.

'It won't happen again,' Jack said firmly.

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, tensing up.

'You will be reunited almost immediately on the other end, sir,' the man assured him.

The Doctor looked at Leah, then at Theo, and then Jack. Jack nodded. The Doctor sighed. 'Okay,' he conceded. 'I'm relying on you,' he directed to Leah. 'Keep yourself and Theo safe. Don't talk to strangers. Don't get distracted by shiny things. All that.'

'Okay!' she said positively.

'We'll see you on the other side, okay?' the Doctor said to them both. 'Just a few hours.'

Theo looked up at him. 'Bye bye,' he said sadly.

The Doctor kissed them both. Leah then took Theo's hand, and they joined the other queue. For a moment the Time Lord just stood there, watching them like a hawk.

_It's not like you to be this paranoid, _his subconscious said.

Now, _that _he could agree with.

* * *

Leah and Theo stood in line, the girl clinging onto her little brother's hand.

'Don't let go of me, mmkay?' Leah ordered Theo. Theo just nodded, his deep brown eyes frantically looking around at the swathes of people, sights and sounds. There was laughing, chatting, and the sound system was still playing that annoying mood music, which Leah was relieved they moved out of earshot of within two minutes as they progressed up the queue.

* * *

'Do you think they're okay?' the Doctor asked Jack anxiously ten minutes after they'd boarded the transport.

'Doc, they're fine. Maybe you should just try to relax,' Jack said seriously.

'How?' the Doctor wondered, slightly facetiously.

'Doctor, yesterday you woke up from a coma after dying for ten solid minutes, your infant son was stolen from you and confined for three months to the degree he forgot who you were and is now scared of everything, and your wife is infected with a disease that's desperately trying to infect you to take over your mind and become a real lifeform with your body to take over the universe. Your left arm is paralysed and we have no idea whether it can be cured.'

'Thanks for the list, I certainly feel relaxed now,' the Doctor replied sarcastically.

Jack ignored him, continuing, 'but we came here looking to get your arm fixed, so that's what we're gonna do. Even if something does happen, which it won't, Leah's smart. She'll look after them both. Forget everything else for now.'

* * *

Leah was peering around the people in front of them to a snack machine filled with chocolate, when Theo's hand seemed to abruptly drop from her grip. She whirled around, and realised someone wearing a hood was standing next to Theo, looking down at him.

'Hey!' Leah yelped quickly, taking Theo's hand again. 'Go away or I'll scream!'

The person stooped to her height, and Leah saw the person's face.

'Mummy?' she realised.

'Hello, sweetheart,' her mummy said with a smile that didn't quite look right. She pulled off her hood to reveal her usually bouncy blonde hair was now grown out into a dark brunette, looking unkempt, straggly, and dirty. 'Oh, I'm so happy to see you, yeah?'

Leah tensed. 'Leave us alone,' she demanded.

Her mummy's expression saddened. 'Oh god, what did he tell you about me?'

'... He said something bad happened to you, and that you needed saving,' Leah said, slightly unsure of the responses she was getting.

'Oh god, he's lied, he's lied to keep you away from me,' her mummy said sadly. Wait. Was she crying? 'He's turned you against me.'

Leah steadied her resolve. 'I don't believe you. Daddy wouldn't lie.'

'Just like he's never lied to you before?' her mummy pointed out. 'Cos he's _never _broken any promises has he?'

Leah shifted awkwardly as a few choice memories of when her daddy had lied to her shot through her mind.

'Please come with me so I can get you away from him,' her mummy pleaded. 'I love you two so much. I can't bear the thought of him manipulatin' you two to hate me, yeah?'

Leah's breath caught in her throat as her dad's warnings flashed through her brain, suddenly torn between her mummy and her daddy. Had it all been a lie? Her daddy _was _being very vague about it.

Leah made an impulsive decision. She grabbed Theo's hand, and made a break for it. She didn't look back, just leading Theo past the desk and through the security gate where immediately two people emerged and blocked their path, catching them both in mid-stride.

'Stop right here!' one of them ordered.

'She's gonna take us!' Leah shrieked.

'Who!?'

'The woman in the cloak!' Leah screamed, struggling to get free.

'What woman?' the man asked.

Leah finally looked back and checked the queue. Everyone was staring at them, but her mum was nowhere to be seen.


	2. Orientation

**A/N: **Ooooh I'm so bowled over that people remember! :D Honest, the Doctor's going completely through the physical and emotional wringer on this one as I attempt to take him places I've never gone before. If you're new to the series, this may surprise you and I invite you to enjoy, if you're not new, then that's really just par for the course, right? :P

* * *

Chapter 2: Orientation

Jack had never known the Doctor to be so uptight. For two hours they were sitting on a bench in the patient transport, and the Doctor just stayed still and poised, staring at the wall, utterly transfixed by seemingly nothing. When they finally docked he was already moving, not even waiting for Jack before he was out of the door and into the inbound area, the speed of which was quite a feat for a man using a crutch for a broken ankle.

Jack followed quickly, shadowing the distinctly lanky frame of the Time Lord past the desk, through the heaving crowd and out into the main area.

'Leah! Theo!' the Doctor called. 'Where are you!?'

Jack reached him, and joined in. 'Leah! Theo?'

'Daddy!' they heard Leah's voice from across the room, sounding a bit panicked.

The Doctor's head snapped to its direction as though he were a meerkat, narrowing his eyes to scan the crowd. 'Leah!?'

Through the clusters of people emerged one of the security guards, holding Leah and Theo's arms tightly. 'Excuse me, sir.'

Jack recognised the danger signs of a Time Lord immediately infuriated at someone manhandling his children. The Time Lord blanched slightly with his eyes fixed on the man's grip on Leah and Theo. 'Yes?' he asked tersely.

'Are these your children?'

'Yes, thanks,' he replied shortly, not even blinking.

'They caused a commotion in the boarding area and attempted to board the ship without going through processing, putting the entire vessel and our passengers at risk,' the man said. 'This is unacceptable behaviour, as I'm sure you'll understand.'

The Doctor suddenly snapped his eyes away from the man's hands on his children's arms and smiled at him in a very insincere manner. 'Oh, did they? I'm really sorry. It won't happen again.'

Jack looked at him and quickly rested a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder. He knew the Doctor well enough to know when he was trying not to implode.

'Thank you, sir,' the man said, and finally let go of the children and left.

They both immediately ran to the Doctor and Jack. 'We didn't do that on purpose, I promise!' Leah protested, hugging her daddy.

'Don't worry, I know you didn't. Tell me what happened,' the Doctor ordered, kissing her forehead and pulling back to gaze into her eyes, brushing back her hair from her face.

'We saw mummy.'

The Doctor's eyes widened. 'What? What did she do?'

'She tried to make us go with her. I said no, she told us you were lying and I still said no, but she wouldn't go away so I grabbed Theo and ran.'

The Doctor looked around the room, a little panicked. 'She didn't come on the ship with you, did she?'

'No, she was going out as we were going in,' she informed him.

The Doctor kissed her again. 'You did the right thing. Well done. I'm so proud of you.'

Leah beamed and kissed his cheek in return. 'I know!' she said boastfully. 'But she looked really tired. Why did she say you were lying and why are we running from her?'

Jack, holding Theo in his arms, looked at the Doctor, who hesitated.

_'Will all patients and visitors please move through to begin the orientation hall,' _a voice said from a PA system.

* * *

'Why was she here?' the Doctor asked Jack quietly in the lecture hall as they waited for everyone to take their seats. Leah and Theo were sitting next to him, busy squabbling over a bag of lollipops Jack had acquired for them to distract them from the thought of their mother. 'She's got no reason to be here.'

'Maybe she got hurt in the fire and needed treatment?' Jack suggested.

'Maybe,' the Doctor replied, sounding unconvinced.

'Or maybe it's cos she knew damn well that you'd have to come here after what happened, and that you'd have the kids with you.'

'Maybe.' He sighed. 'She's probably going to try and come back here.'

'Even if she did, she's got no chance of stealing Leah and Theo, this place is looking like a fortress,' Jack said. 'Leah and Theo can't get out except the way they came in and Pleaneas won't let that happen without one of us being there. They're totally protected here.'

'I guess,' the Doctor murmured. '... She told Leah and Theo I was lying.'

'Which is exactly why you need to tell Leah what's going on,' Jack replied. 'She wasn't there - she's not seen her mum in three months, she's got no idea what the real story is. In fact, none of us at Torchwood have. Just what you said. Of course we believe you, but like I said. You aren't Leah's only parent. Leah's loyalties are divided. Rose knows that. I think she'll play on it.'

'You think Rose will try to turn them against me?'

'I hate to say it Doc, but Rose knows you better than anyone else in the universe. Better than the Master, even. If anyone knows how to play you and defeat you, it's her. If she's as bad as you say she is, she'll happily use your kids to do it.'

The Doctor sighed, running his hand through his hair and making it all stand on end. '... I can't believe this is happening.'

'Like I said, let's just fix your arm and then deal with it later,' Jack stated for what felt like the 56th time.

'Excuse me,' someone said from in front of them. They looked up, and saw a heavily pregnant jarginian woman standing by the seat that the Doctor had propped his feet onto.

'Oh, sorry,' the Doctor said quickly, taking his feet off.

She smiled. 'Thank you,' she said, and took the seat just as the lights lowered as the orientation began. The large screen at the front of the room lit up with images, and a female voice came through on the speakers.

'Welcome to Pleaneas, to all patients and visitors,' the voice said. 'This presentation will give you an idea of what you should expect to happen during your time with us. After this presentation, each patient will be assigned a time for an initial assessment, where your condition will be properly diagnosed, and treatment options will be discussed. Once you have selected the treatment option you feel is right for you, you will then be scheduled in as soon as possible for it to begin, including any necessary pharmaceuticals or surgical procedures.

'All patients have been assigned living quarters, with comprehensive facilities for family and friends to join you on your journey with us. Many of whom I see are with us already. Hello, and welcome. If visitors have any questions in regards to the operations of Pleaneas or treatments for patients, you have level four access to the terminals situated in convenient locations around the facility, and also a small information database in your infowatches. We would request however, that visitors limit themselves to level four areas only. This includes any necessary clinical areas for accompanying patients, restaurants, recreational facilities, and the botanical gardens.'

Images of a beautiful botanical garden appeared on the screen, filled with all manner of strange and wonderful-looking alien plants. The image then changed to one of a very colourful, fun, and extremely extensive play area complete with ball pits, roller coasters, and soft play areas.

'For young children visiting us, we have an extremely large indoor and outdoor play facility as well as daily educational services in our Children's Area, which is staffed with extra security through all hours of the day. If parents or guardians have any queries about the facility, or would like to discuss educational needs such as learning programmes, please speak with our main desk, located in the foyer outside of this hall.'

Leah tapped her dad on the shoulder insistently. 'Can we go there?' she asked keenly.

'Of course,' the Doctor replied.

'Alongside our Children's Area, we also have additional facilities regarding religion, community areas, and vocational classes and academic lectures on a regular basis. We also have a large play park for all you grown-up kids!'

Everyone laughed. The Doctor tapped Jack on the shoulder. 'Can we go there?'

Jack grinned.

'And now, I will introduce myself.'

Almost immediately, a highly-detailed and perfect hologram of a female humanoid with an all-white outfit and a kind smile suddenly appeared on stage to the left of the screen, causing several people to gasp in surprise.

'Hello,' the hologram said in a voice as clear as crystal, the same voice that had been on the speakers. 'I am Panacea. I am a fully interactive supercomputer with extremely advanced artificial intelligence. I use what we call adaptive and predictive learning, where I am able to learn and analyse behaviour, symptoms, and species-specific biofunctions to develop optimal rehabilitation programs for patients. I am programmed with every known physical and mental condition in the universe, and I am able to identify new conditions by analysing patients at a psychiatric, pathogenic, and genetic level. I am very pleased to meet you. I will be carrying out your diagnosis and treatment. I look forward to accompanying you on the journey to health.'

Panacea disappeared in a blip, and the screen lit up again.

'Thank you for your attention. I would once again like to welcome you to Pleaneas. Please enjoy your stay with us.'

The screen darkened and the lights went up again. The crowd around them cheered as though someone had just won an Oscar. Immediately a thousand infowatches started beeping, and the Doctor checked his.

'First consultation in twenty minutes,' the Doctor said. 'Room number 5564-G.'

'They really don't hang around, do they?' Jack mused.

'Can we go to the play park? Please?' Leah asked.

The Doctor immediately felt his insides tighten up.

_It's totally safe, so stop worryin', _his subconscious told him in Rose's voice.

'... Okay,' the Doctor agreed, 'but I want you at our room in an hour.'

Leah beamed, taking her little brother's hand, squeezing past the Doctor and Jack and running out the hall.

* * *

The Doctor and Jack located a lift, which seemed to already know where they wanted to go, closing the door and moving almost immediately.

'Welcome, Doctor and Jack,' Panacea's voice suddenly said from nowhere. 'I am aware you have an initial assessment booked in ten minutes, so I am taking you to the assessment area. Please state if this is not the area you would like to go.'

'Nope, that's fine,' the Doctor said, looking up at a tiny speaker in the corner of the room.

'On exiting the lift, you will find your assessment room the first on the left.'

'Thanks.'

'You are welcome. Please speak to me if you need anymore information. If not, please enjoy the ride. Your journey will be an estimated further 56 seconds.'

Mood music began to play as information screens whirled around in the walls, showing the layout of Pleaneas, and even a rolling newsreel for universal current events. There was a strange shrieking noise coming from above them.

'What's that noise?' Jack wondered, looking up. 'Doesn't sound good.'

'Sounds like there's a water tank on top,' the Doctor replied. 'They must be using water as fuel.'

'Really flash, this place, isn't it?' Jack mused.

The Doctor made a noise of affirmation.

Jack looked at him. 'Still never heard of Panacea, right?'

'Nope.'

* * *

Exactly 67 seconds later, the Doctor and Jack entered the assessment room, where Panacea was sitting waiting for them.

'Good morning, Doctor and Jack,' she greeted warmly. 'Thank you for being on time. Please take a seat.'

They did, both looking around the room with interest. It was very plain, with charts, a bookshelf, and a computer, looking a little bit like a GP's office on Earth, just with a few advanced technology extras including a complicated-looking microchip and a metal arm on the desk. Panacea was standing behind, looking as calm and reassuring as always.

'This session is an initial assessment of your condition, and I will be able to provide you with a selection of treatments that we can progress with,' she explained. 'Please be assured that all information, including genetic profiles and condition information is kept in the strictest confidence. Are you happy to proceed?'

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed.

'From your initial scan at our docking station, I can detect that you have severe nerve damage in your left arm, which has rendered it immobile. You also have a trimalleolar fracture to your right ankle that has already been realigned, and partial damage and healing to the chest cavity and lungs. I must state before I offer treatment options that your biology is unusual,' Panacea noted. 'I am afraid my predictions for your healing pattern may be only close approximations.'

'That's okay,' the Doctor assured her, 'I'm used to that.'

'Repairing the damage to your ankle, chest and lungs will be a simple process, involving a few hours in one of our humanoid bone and tissue regeneration chambers,' she explained. 'I do not anticipate any problems in fixing these issues, which, after treatment, should be fully healed within three days to 100 percent function.'

'Wow,' Jack muttered.

'However, the damage to your left arm is slightly more complex. There are two possible treatment methods with the highest success rates for humanoids. Option one, we could attempt a course of physical and neural therapy with nerve reprogramming. That is where you would take up residence in the clinic for three months, and I would craft a program tailored to you with the aim of helping you regain mobility in your arm. This usually carried a 86 percent success rate of regaining full mobility. Or, as a second treatment option, we could fit you with one of our new exotronics.'

'What's that?' Jack asked.

'A tailored mobility aid for the arm.' She indicated the strange metal arm on the desk.

The Doctor leaned forward and picked it up. It was a kind of sleek and lightweight metal shell, obviously designed to be affixed over his arm. 'An exoskeleton?'

'Yes. It will link into your nervous system and allow your impulses to control the exotronic and move your arm using your brain's signals. I must warn you, however, it is still in an experimental stage, and results can vary from person to person,' she said. 'Our best-responding patients find they almost have complete mobility, but some people find their limb can become very hard to control.'

'How do you attach it?' the Doctor wondered.

'You would undergo invasive surgery to fuse the exotronic to your arm with bone melding, and we link it directly into your nervous system. After which, you would carry out a series of familiarisation sessions, where we will concentrate on your control over the exotronic.'

'What's the success rate?' Jack asked.

'According to my databases, we have never had an exotronic fitted to your species before, and I have no statistical data on its potential success,' Panacea replied. 'I am afraid I cannot supply this information.'

'So, therapy or an exoskeleton,' Jack stated, looking at the Doctor who was still examining the exotronic.

'What's the quickest?' the Doctor asked Panacea.

'The therapy would take three months minimum. The exotronic would take an estimated two weeks, including the familiarisation sessions - of course, the length of this depends on your response.'

The Doctor didn't hesitate. 'I want the exotronic.'

'You sure?' Jack asked. 'I know we haven't got much time, but maybe you should just take the hit and go for the therapy.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'I can't be here for three months minimum, there's no time. Rose will be dead in six if I don't do something. I'll just have to take the risk.'

'You'll have to have invasive surgery.'

'I know,' the Doctor replied. 'But I don't have the time to wait.' He looked at Panacea and nodded. 'I'll take the exotronic.'

'Very well,' Panacea said. 'I will book you in for the bone and tissue regeneration treatment session immediately, and surgery tomorrow. This surgery will be an initial fitting of the exotronic. In the meantime, I will examine your biological scans and make recommendations to our award winning surgical team on the best way to fit it.'

The Doctor nodded and held up the exotronic. 'Mind if I take this to check how it's put together?'

'Of course you can,' Panacea said, smiling. 'If you decide you would prefer therapy, please speak with the main desk in the foyer or contact me through your infowatch or any terminal in the clinic.'

'I will, thanks,' the Doctor assured her.

'Now for your mental health condition.'

'Which one?' the Doctor asked, blasé.

'You have extremely low serotonin levels, indicative of depression. You also have high anxiety levels, and the retrieval pattern in your brain suggests you also have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.'

'Sounds about right,' the Doctor agreed.

'Having accessed your memories via your initial scan, I believe I have identified the direct cause of a large portion of these problems. It seems that many of your issues stem from an incident in your childhood, where ...'

The Doctor frowned. 'Hold on,' he interrupted, hand in the air. 'Rather not.'

'Do you wish to skip the mental rehabilitation part of treatment?' Panacea asked.

'Yes, please. Thanks.'

'Very well,' Panacea said. 'I will schedule you in for your treatments and you will receive the appointment times via your infowatch.' She turned to Jack. 'Hello, Jack. Are you happy to proceed with our consultation?'

Jack smiled and shook his head. 'Don't worry. I'm not a patient.'

'I'm sorry, my databases have registered you as a patient,' Panacea replied. 'From your initial scan, I can identify that you are, in effect, immortal, with a condition that involves spontaneous and continuous cell regeneration related to extremely elevated levels of artron energy in your biosystems. Would you not like to be treated for this condition?'

Both the Doctor and Jack stilled, shocked, looking at each other.

'Wait, you can fix my immortality?' Jack asked in disbelief, leaning forward in his chair.

'I believe so. Of course, the treatment I have developed has been generated by my artificial intelligence systems and has never been performed before.'

'How can you fix chronobiological issues?' the Doctor asked, leaning forward too.

'We have experimental technology involving a small program in its research phase with gene therapy,' Panacea replied. 'I believe I can construct a program which will cure you with a high potential success rate using the equipment and theoretical procedures we have developed.'

Jack fell silent, stunned. He looked at the Doctor, who was gazing at him. He then looked back at Panacea. 'Can I, er, take a raincheck on that and get back to you?'

Panacea smiled. 'Of course.'

* * *

They left the assessment room and headed back to the lift in silence. They entered, and the Doctor ordered the lift to take them to their living quarters.

Ten seconds later, Jack finally found some words to say. 'Can you believe that?'

'Honestly? I'm not sure I can,' the Doctor muttered, staring at the map of Pleaneas on the wall.

Jack frowned. 'What're you saying?'

The Doctor shrugged, and looked at him. 'I just haven't seen this kind of medical technology Gallifrey existed,' he said. 'It's extremely advanced and takes millions of years to get right.'

'So?'

'So either Panacea is extremely ahead of her time and possibly the greatest medical computer ever created which for some reason doesn't exist in a hundred years, or something _really _strange is going on here.'

'Let me guess. Never heard of an exotronic either?'

'Nope,' the Doctor muttered, looking at the exotronic he was still holding. 'This isn't anything I've ever seen.'

They fell silent as the mood music played and the lift continued.

'So what are you going to do?' the Doctor wondered.

Jack paused. 'I ... dunno. What d'you think?'

The Doctor paused. 'I think you need to _really _think about this.'

'I think I do too.'


	3. Doctor Gadget

**A/N: **I'm KINDA keeping up this one a week thing ... sorta? :D

* * *

Chapter 3: Doctor Gadget

Leah Tyler did what she did best as a six-and-three-quarter-year-old Duty Manager, taking her job as an older sister very seriously indeed as she and Theo explored the expansive complex together.

She didn't quite know the details of what had happened to her little brother in the three months he'd been held by Bac'ou Bar'zelli, but from hearing snippets of conversations and the little her daddy had told her, she knew Theo wasn't the hyperactive troublemaking brown-eyed blond boy he'd been before his abduction. In the same sense, her daddy was definitely not the same as he'd been. Her telepathic link to him through the bond - although not fully matured - was throwing up some very complex emotions. Though she hadn't needed the bond to see that he was miserable.

However, she had a plan. While her daddy was busy getting better, she'd take care of Theo, and hopefully even bring him back to the bundle of curious energy he had been. It would be one less worry for her daddy, at least.

So as they explored, she not only kept an eye on her little brother like a parent but pushed him to explore new sights and sounds. After a bit of time, Theo's innate streak for adventure and the unknown was being reawakened as he stopped being Leah's shadow and started occasionally wandering off. After the fifth time of Theo briefly disappearing, Leah lost her patience and pulled him aside.

'What did I say?' she moaned.

'Um, what?' the little boy asked innocently.

'I said, don't run off!' Leah insisted, keeping her hand on his arm.

'Why?' Theo asked.

'Cos last time you ran off, Theo, you all disappeared for three months, Mummy's now acting all weird, and Daddy died for ten minutes and has a numb arm.'

'Oh, am sorry,' the little boy said, and without any hesitation whatsoever immediately ran off again.

'Theo!' Leah yelled, running after him as he toddled at quite a pace to the doors leading outside where there were lots of people laughing, eating, and playing, basking in the light of the two pleanean suns. Theo stepped out of the door, and then suddenly shrieked and fell back inside, as though he'd been blasted back by an overwhelming gust of wind.

Leah quickly reached him. 'What?' she asked, scanning for danger.

'No go,' Theo squeaked from the floor, panicking. 'Is bad!'

'What's bad?'

'Outside bad!'

'Why?'

'Bac'ou said outside bad and hurt me!'

'He was lying,' Leah told him. 'Just like he lied 'bout your name being Soran.'

Theo frowned. 'Oh. 'Kay?'

'Forget everything he ever told you cos he was wrong all over,' Leah said. 'He was bad, and we don't listen to bad people cos they make annoying plans to do lots of annoying things and our family have gotta clean up the mess.'

"Kay.'

'Okay, so let's go,' the little girl stated, retaking his hand and pulling him up onto his feet, leading him slowly out into the warm and inviting light. They hovered momentarily outside the door.

'Oh,' Theo said, looking up at the sky with a look of wonder etch on his little face. 'What that?'

'What's what?' Leah asked.

'That,' Theo said and pointed in the direction of the twin suns.

'Um, they're suns,' Leah replied, confused. 'Wait, how come you don't know that?'

Theo shrugged.

'Don't you remember being outside?'

'Umm, not 'member,' the boy said, frowning.

'Oh. Were you locked in a room all day? What did you do?'

'Bac'ou bringed friends and we p'ay.'.

'What friends?'

'Umm, they s'aves.'

'They were slaves?' Leah asked, wide-eyed.

'Yeah, an' they sold so didn't p'ay very long time and I sad.'

'Oh,' Leah murmured, and then beamed at her little brother. 'Well, now we can be best friends and play together forever, okay?'

'Yeah,' her little brother said happily, smiling.

* * *

The Doctor and Jack arrived at the living quarters, which turned out to be more like a penthouse apartment, with a very large and clean communal living room with luxuriously soft and expensive sofas, a wooden table carved with various animals from across the universe, a holovid, the latest gaming console, and perfectly-placed decor including a strikingly colourful rug on the floor and unique pieces of abstract art on the walls. Some glass doors opened out onto a spacious balcony, giving a fantastic view of the planet with mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and a perfectly clear lilac sky. There were four bedrooms, each ensuite, along with a small gym and sauna and a clean and modern-looking eating area with a programmable food dispenser. There was even a mood room, complete with the latest relaxing art installations from one of the universe's most famed artists.

Jack spent the next ten minutes exploring the massive accommodation as the Doctor sat down at the table to examine the construction of the exotronic, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and immediately setting to work.

_You're gonna hurt yourself if you do this, yeah? I wouldn't want you to risk everythin'._

'I'm not risking everything, it's just an operation or two,' the Doctor replied to his subconscious.

_Don't give me that. Only you know how dangerous this is. They don't know anythin' about your physiology and the way your brain's wired up - if this goes wrong, it'll kill you. _

'I have to take the chance.'

_You're gonna risk leavin' our kids without either of us?_

'If I don't do anything about my arm, I'll probably get infected and die and have to regenerate. I don't want to regenerate.'

_Is that a bad thing? _

'To save you, I need to be as familiar as possible to you. If I regenerate, I don't think I'll be able to get through to you. I need to reach what's left of you and help you fight the infection. Being in this body will give me the best chance of doing that.'

_C' mon. You know you can't save me. Stop it._

'Tough.'

_Please let me go._

'Are all the living quarters like this?' Jack suddenly asked, appearing from one of the adjoining doors. 'This place is incredible.'

'We're probably on the top package,' the Doctor said, not even looking up.

'This is why I like hanging out with you. You always get the best rooms,' Jack joked.

'I dunno, I once spent a night in a fallixian sewer with the city's rat population,' the Doctor mused. 'Three credits a night. It was all they had. I had fallixian rat fever for three weeks.'

Jack smirked, taking a seat next to him at the table. 'How does the exotronic look?'

'Like a very sophisticated mess,' the Doctor replied. 'They've got polarisation circuits everywhere and several very pointless diodes, but the basic construction looks fine so far.'

'What's it powered by?'

'Sonic battery,' the Doctor replied, turning the exotronic over and indicating the power pack.

'Handy,' Jack commented, looking at the sonic screwdriver.

'Yep,' the Doctor said and buzzed the battery with his sonic. The arm suddenly moved, with its fingers waving slightly. 'Look at that - self-adjusting contraction pads in the joints.'

'They must've spent years on this.'

The Doctor looked at him and raised an eyebrow. 'I wonder …' He raised his infowatch to his mouth and spoke. 'Afternoon, Panacea.'

_'Good afternoon, Doctor. How may I assist you?' _Panacea's voice came from the watch.

'Just curious - how long did it take to conceive, develop, test, and implement the exotronic?'

_'Six months,'_ Panacea replied.

'That's fast.'

_'Pleaneas is very proud concerning the speed at which we develop new technologies and treatments,'_ Panacea replied diplomatically.

'I'll bet you are,' the Doctor agreed, just as the door opened and Leah and Theo appeared in a whirlwind of energy.

Leah's eyes lit up immediately at the sight in front of her. 'Wow!' she enthused. 'Is this all ours?'

'Yeah,' Jack replied, winking. 'Go pick any bedroom you like.'

Leah immediately ran off. Theo toddled straight to his dad and beamed up at him. That took the Doctor by surprise. 'Okay?' he asked his son, slightly wrong-footed.

'Me 'n Leah went out in a sun an' I did an' I not scared,' Theo told him proudly.

For the first time in what felt like a very long time, the Doctor smiled. 'Hey, well done.'

'And Bac'ou was bad and annoying,' Theo added.

'He really was,'Jack agreed.

'An' now we clean up mess, 'kay.'

The Doctor's smile widened. 'Yeah, we're trying ... Soran.'

'Name's Theo,' the little boy said and stuck out his hand. Jack laughed. The Doctor took the boy's tiny palm and shook it gently.

'Nice to meet you, Theo,' he said.

'I go now, bye-bye,' Theo suddenly decided and toddled off to explore the living quarters.

The Doctor found himself nearly laughing. A little glimmer of light in the absolute mess that was his current existence ebbed inside his dark and scattered mind.

Jack looked at the Doctor. 'I think we owe Leah one,' he said, smiling, and the Doctor nodded in agreement.

_'Jack,'_ Panacea suddenly said from his infowatch, the dial lighting up._ 'Have you considered the treatment, yet? I have our team standing by ready for you if you would like to go ahead.'_

Jack hesitated, glancing at the Doctor. 'I need a bit more time to decide,' he told Panacea.

_'Of course. Please contact me if you are happy to proceed,'_ Panacea said, and the infowatch darkened, and silence overcame them both.

'Are you tempted?' the Doctor wondered.

Jack paused for a long time. 'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. I don't know what to do.'

'Just remember you can't go back after the treatment,' the Doctor reminded him.

'Yeah, I know,' Jack confirmed, sighing.

'What treatment?' Leah's voice suddenly asked as appeared back into the room. 'Why are you getting treated, Uncle Jack? Are you sick, too?'

'Panacea thinks she can cure Uncle Jack's immortality,' the Doctor told her.

Leah frowned. 'No, thank you,' she said almost immediately, looking at her honorary uncle.

'Why not?' Jack asked.

'Because that's your thing.'

'My thing?' Jack echoed.

'Yeah. You're the one who always dies a lot. If you didn't die a lot, you wouldn't have a thing.'

'She's got a point,' the Doctor mused.

Jack grinned down at her. 'Hey, I could get a new thing.'

'Like what?'

'Err … I used to play the trumpet. Maybe I could be the guy with the trumpet? What d'you think?'

'That's not a thing,' Leah complained, 'that's just a trumpet.'

'It's a fair assessment,' the Doctor commented, grinning at Jack.

'You'd need a really big thing like maybe you have a pet lion or something. Then you'd be the one with the lion, and that'd be your thing,' Leah continued.

'So you think I should get a lion?' Jack asked.

'Yeah. Call him Michael.'

'I'll definitely look into it.'

Leah beamed and skipped over to her dad. 'What's that?' she asked, jumping up onto the seat beside him to peek at the metal arm, her feet swaying back and forth on the chair with her chin resting on her hands, staring intently at the exotronic.

'It's called an exotronic, it's a kind of exoskeleton,' the Doctor informed her.

'Oh. Is it going over your arm to make it work again?'

'Yeah,' he confirmed.

'So are you gonna be like Inspector Gadget?'

The Doctor smirked. 'Well, not exactly. But there's a thought. Maybe I can make some attachments. What d'you think?'

'Add a spoon,' Leah said. 'Cos you always need a spoon just in case you gotta eat a yoghurt.'

'Oh yes, I've definitely been in that situation before,' the Doctor mused. 'I had to eat a strawberry yoghurt to save the universe, once.'

Leah giggled. 'Daddy, stop lying.'

'I'm not!' the Doctor protested.

She giggled. 'Is it gonna be a part of you forever and ever, now?'

'Well hopefully not, but I don't know for sure,' the Doctor answered. 'Depends if I ever get the feeling back in my arm.'

There was suddenly a loud thunderclap sound of something expensive smashing in the other room, immediately interrupting their conversation.

'Theo!?' the Doctor yelled, suddenly tense in the silence that followed.

'Yeah?' the little boy's voice came back.

The Doctor relaxed a little. 'What did you break?'

'Nuffin'!'

Jack rolled his eyes and looked at Leah. 'Wanna handle this?'

'Nah, it's your turn to look after him cos he's exhausting,' Leah commented. 'And anyway I'm six, so it's not my problem.'

Jack laughed and left to check on the boy.

'Hey, thanks,' the Doctor suddenly said to his daughter.

'Um, you're welcome,' the girl said but looked confused. 'Why?'

'I don't know what you did with Theo, but it worked.'

She beamed a beautiful little smile. 'Oh, okay. Any other problems you just call me.'

The Doctor laughed. 'I will.'

She leant forward to peer at the exotronic some more. 'That's got way too many diodes,' she observed.

'That's just what I was telling Uncle Jack.'

'Is it gonna work?'

'I think so.'

'What happens if it doesn't?'

'I'm going to need to think up a plan B, which right now I don't have.'

'That's okay, you're good at that,' Leah said.

He smiled. 'Well, sometimes.'

'So, what happened to Mummy?'

The Doctor felt tense again. Even that word was beginning to agitate him. 'Not now, Leah.'

'But you said you …'

'Go and play. I'm busy.'

'Daddy …'

'I said _go and play!'_ the Doctor suddenly snapped as a wave of frustration and fury washed over his entire body.

Silently and with her bottom lip wobbling in the sure sign of oncoming tears, Leah jumped off the chair and ran into another room.

_Go and say sorry, right now._

'No.'

_Don't take it out on her._

'Go away.'

* * *

'Are you kidding me? How did you break this?' Jack wondered seriously as he looked between the priceless large art sculpture now in six worthless pieces on the floor, and the tiny boy standing next to it looking overly innocent.

'Ah din't,' Theo protested, staring up at him.

'Who did it, then?'

'Leah.'

'Leah was with us.'

'She t' ported.'

'Did you just say she teleported?'

'Yeah.'

Jack sighed and realised with a pang of woeful acceptance that as he'd accepted the job of being a temporary nanny, he now had to deal with not only an extraordinarily depressed and moody Doctor, but also a hyperactive, erratic, and extremely smart pint-sized version of him.

'Okay, right, just get away from the broken pieces,' Jack ordered Theo, who immediately toddled to another room. 'If I hear anything breaking I swear …'

Jack was startled when Leah suddenly ran into the room and threw herself at him for a hug.

'Geez, what …' he started, and then noticed she was crying. 'Whoa, what's happened? Is Dad okay?'

'Daddy y-yelled at me,' she sobbed, her face pressed into his leg.

'Why?'

'I asked … I asked h-him 'bout Mummy an'... an' he got mad.'

Jack sighed, kneeling down to her with his hands on her arms, pulling her to face him. 'Don't let it bother you. He's just really upset at the moment. You know he's been sad since he got back. He can't help it. He's lost your mom, and he's hurting.'

'Yeah.'

'You know your dad - he's clever, but he's an emotional black hole,' Jack told her. 'He can't process the emotions he's going through very well. Way back before you were born and he had his old face …'

'Big e-ears?' Leah choked out through tears.

Jack grinned. 'Yeah. Back then, he was really bad for it. A lot of the time, it was like talking to a brick wall. But your mom made him, well, more human. You're seeing what he was before he met her. Usually, your mom's on hand to help him out, but now she's not here. It's up to us now. He needs our help, and he needs his best friend. That's you.'

'But you're… his ... his b-best friend,' Leah sobbed, puzzled.

Jack smiled. 'Not as much as you.'

'Am I … best of the b-best friends?'

'Oh yeah,' Jack confirmed, smiling. 'He needs his best of best friends to give him a hug and tell him he's gonna be fine.'

Leah sniffed and nodded. 'Okay.'

'Go and ask him again, and this time, don't take no for an answer.'

'But … he'll yell at me again.'

For the second time, their conversation was interrupted by a smash from an adjoining room.

'Jesus Christ,' Jack breathed. 'THEO!'

'Was Leah!' the little boy's voice came back.

Jack groaned and looked at Leah. 'Okay, we're the only reasonable people here, so we've gotta team up. Help me out with your brother, and we'll make a plan of attack for your dad. Deal?'

'Okay,' Leah agreed, giving a smile.

* * *

As the twin suns set and bathed the entire residence in a warm and calming glow, Jack walked into the main room where the Doctor was still hard at work on the exotronic as he had been for two hours. As Jack entered, he was still sitting at the table with the exotronic now taken apart, with his glasses on silently studiously sonicking each individual piece.

Jack took a deep breath, and began.

'Theo finally exhausted himself,' he told the Doctor. 'I put him in bed if you wanna say goodnight.'

The Doctor finally looked up from the exotronic. 'Yeah,' he said, standing up.

'He's in the second room on the left.'

'Thanks,' the Doctor replied and moved to the door. He suddenly stopped and turned back. 'Really. I mean it. Thank you.'

'Childcare's what I signed up for on this trip,' Jack assured him, grinning. 'Oh, have you talked to Leah, yet?'

'What?'

'Talked to Leah. About Rose.'

'Oh,' the Doctor said, if somewhat awkwardly.

Jack sighed. 'Look, I know it hurts, and I know you're sad, but you've gotta do some parenting, here. We talked about this. Leah needs to know, and frankly, I think it'll be good for you, cos you sure as hell haven't talked to anyone else about it.'

The Doctor sighed, running his hand through his hair.

'I'm just telling you what you already know, and we've already had this discussion,' Jack continued, 'but you know damn well if you let Rose take the kids for a ride, that's game over.'

The Doctor swallowed. 'Okay. Tomorrow.'

'No, now,' Jack ordered. 'She's ready. Say goodnight to Theo and come right back. I'll make some tea.'


	4. A Dark and Stormy Night

**A/N: **Okay so SLIGHTLY late but still sorta okay? :D

Yay, just a little more background and we're getting into the actual plot! Phew, I hate starting from scratch, as I believe a wise person once said.

* * *

Chapter 4: A Dark and Stormy Night

It was as though the weather knew the mood of the room as the beautiful clear skies of Pleaneas ominously turned dark and cloudy, setting themselves up for what was probably going to be a raging lightning storm overnight.

The Doctor somehow found himself sitting at the table opposite to his daughter, who was staring up at him with her eyes so full and focused on his face, ready to listen with extreme attention to every single syllable he was going to say. It was set up like an interrogation, with Leah as the detective, him as the perpetrator, and Jack the defence lawyer sitting on his right.

When he opened his mouth to speak, he had no idea what he was going to say. Somehow, and from somewhere, vague words managed to form themselves halfway down the channel from his brain to his mouth, and before he knew it, he was speaking.

'... Do you remember over a year ago, when your mum killed her brother?'

'Yeah,' Leah replied, nodding. 'When she killed him to save you?'

'Yes,' he confirmed, with every word feeling like it was tearing through his very being. 'Well, for a long time afterwards, Mum was struggling very badly. She was depressed, anxious, and she had PTSD. She couldn't sleep for nightmares, and she was barely eating. She was extremely mentally ill, which was making her physically ill. To help her, I used the bond to get inside her nightmares and become a sort of 'Dream Guardian' for her, so at least she could sleep.'

'What does that mean? Dream Guardian?'

'Well, I basically went inside her head when she was dreaming and gave her a character - a fictional version of myself for her dreams - who's immortal with superpowers. Someone she could rely on to save her whenever she had a nightmare.'

'Um, like an imaginary friend?'

'Yeah, kind of. But one for her dreams. A kind of superhero imaginary friend.'

'Did it work?'

'Yep. Mum's nightmares stopped, and we were happy. But that's when the Bar'zellis arrived.'

'When those people with guns came into Torchwood, and we had to go on holiday?'

'Yeah. The Bar'zellis wanted to abduct Theo, and they'd have had you too. It got very dangerous, so that's when we had to run. We spent all that time travelling to keep you two safe. After a year, I pretty much thought we'd completely lost them, and we were about to head back to Torchwood. Your mum wanted to get some souvenirs for everyone, and so we went to the market on Hivernia. But while you were off on your own, the Bar'zellis found us. They abducted Theo. Me and your mum chased after them. I was just about to win around the Bar'zelli agent with a bit of charm when the head of the organisation walked in - Bac'ou Bar'zelli. I recognised him, and he recognised me.'

'You knew him?'

'Unfortunately, yes,' the Doctor replied solemnly. 'I'd met him when I was much younger. So to cut a long story short, I was shot at point-blank range with a stun gun, Theo was taken, and your mum was completely abandoned on an alien world.'

Leah's jaw dropped.

'I came to my senses two months later, after being in a coma. Your mum had been living rough on the alien world, and her nightmares had come back. We didn't have any way of communicating with you or Torchwood, plus we had no Tardis, so I promised her we'd find Theo. We hitched a ride to Sirrus.'

'That criminal planet you went to before?'

'Yeah. We tracked down Theo to the Bar'zelli Headquarters. By that time, it'd been three months since he'd been taken. We made plans to break him out, but it went wrong. Bac'ou caught me, stabbed me in the wrist with a poison blade, which is how this happened,' he gestured to his paralysed arm, 'but by then, your mum was so ill that the disease completely took her over. Don't ask me how exactly, but she destroyed the entire cell block. Everything was on fire. I managed to get to where Theo was being held, but I collapsed from blood loss. She arrived, and I was so relieved. I thought she was going to try and save us. I waited for her. But she didn't. She … walked out.'

'She didn't save you?' the little girl asked, still staring at him.

'No.'

'But she'd never do that.'

'No, she wouldn't. But it's … it's not her.'

'What d'you mean?'

He swallowed. 'There's … There's a disease. A mental disease. This disease acts like cancer to the brain of low telepathic species. It ravages the brain and the body, and in 98 percent of cases, it kills the host. It's usually transmitted through heightened and sustained telepathic connections. It's called Lanwa's disease. It's incurable, and it's a death sentence. Your mum has it.'

Leah stared at her father, not blinking. '... Mummy's dying?'

'... Yes. She's got six months.'

'But she can't be.'

'I'm sorry … Oh, Leah. It's all my fault. I'm _so_ sorry.'

'It's _not _your fault,' Jack stressed.

'How's it your fault?' Leah queried, confused.

'Because … because I infected her,' the Doctor croaked, putting his head in his hand.

'What?'

'I didn't know. I didn't know I was carrying the disease. As a carrier, I have no symptoms, it's just there. I think the Master must've given it to me when …'

He trailed off.

'When the Master telepathically attacked him before you were born,' Jack completed for him. 'We think that's when he gave your dad the disease and didn't bother telling him that it was a possibility he could be infected.'

'Oh,' Leah muttered.

'All that time, she became, iller, and iller, and iller, and I didn't notice,' the Doctor berated himself, staring at the table. 'I didn't see any of the symptoms. When the Bar'zellis caught up with us, in that time she was alone, the Lanwa's spread through her brain to the point of no return. When I woke up from being shot, I knew she'd changed, but I assumed it was because she'd been forced to survive on an alien world for two months.'

'Which is really reasonable to think,' Jack added.

The Doctor ignored him. 'The disease is using your mum's body as a sort of vessel.'

'But what's it trying to do?'

'Infect me,' the Doctor muttered. 'We've now got a disease that's completely sentient and has struck lucky. Because of how gallifreyan brains are constructed, usually Lanwa's can't take me over - I can only be a carrier - but because I'm bonded to your mum, there's a sort of psi connection between us. This disease is basically fed by psi energy. That means the disease, if it tries hard enough, can transmit itself from mum back to me, and then …'

'We'd get a sentient disease that can exist in a body that can sustain it, and time travel and regenerate,' Jack supplied.

'Yeah,' the Doctor confirmed weakly.

'But you'll save Mummy, right?' Leah asked, anxiously.

He sighed. 'There's … There's a small chance. This disease thrives on psi energy, which is all linked to telepathy, telekinesis, and to a small extent, the subconscious - which includes dreams. The disease basically used your mum's nightmares as a road to get in her head. But I got there first. I made that Dream Guardian. There's that little version of me inside your mum's imagination that can push back the disease. But what's left of your mum needs to believe that he's strong enough to kill the disease.'

'How you gonna do that?' Leah wondered nervously.

'We need to somehow capture her, and I need to help my Dream Guardian self beat the disease. But that's going to be hard. I don't know what sort of powers the Lanwa's has.'

'Okay,' Leah croaked, still staring at him.

'When you saw her, did she look injured? Or recovering from something?'

'Umm … she looked tired,' Leah said, thinking. 'She didn't look hurt, though. Why?'

'What I don't know is what she was doing here,' the Doctor muttered. 'It can't be a coincidence.'

'Wouldn't Panacea see she was sick anyway?' Leah wondered.

'Lanwa's disease is extremely difficult to detect,' the Doctor replied. 'Despite all this technology, she might have missed it. Or maybe even Panacea couldn't cure it.'

Leah paused, still gazing at him. Then she sat up and nodded as if just having made a huge decision. 'Okay. So what do I do?'

'You can't do anything, Leah,' the Doctor said regrettably. 'This is completely up to me.'

'But I wanna help.'

'You can help by looking after Theo for us,' Jack told her. 'You two need to stay safe. All of us have gotta be extra careful.'

Leah nodded. 'What do I do if I see Mummy again?'

'Run,' the Doctor replied immediately. 'And keep running until you can't run anymore. Anything she says to you, don't believe her. She wants you on her side, now. She wants to use you to manipulate me, and I won't let that happen. And if she can't manipulate you, she might try to hurt you. So just run. Don't fight. Don't even try. Okay?'

'Okay,' Leah replied nodding.

'And … please forgive me.'

She gazed at him briefly, before she dropped down from her chair and moved around to give him a hug. He held her with his one working arm, feeling his hearts hammering in his chest.

'It wasn't your fault,' his little girl told him.

_It wasn't._

He didn't reply. He just stayed holding her for as long as the girl was prepared to stay in his arms.

* * *

By the time the Doctor had seen Leah to bed, the storm was in a calm phase just before it let loose. Once again, it seemed to be coinciding perfectly with his mood. Despite everything, he did feel significantly better by telling Leah. Not relief - it could never be relief - but maybe just slightly less uptight. Like his head was somewhat less crowded.

He checked in on Theo, who was sleeping like a log. He then returned to the main room, where Jack had made them both some more tea.

'You did good,' Jack commented as the Time Lord took his seat and pulled the much-needed cup of tea towards him. 'I know that was hard. But she needed to know.'

The Doctor sighed, nursing his cup of tea. 'Yeah. She did.'

'We'll get through this,' Jack assured him. 'We'll get Rose back.'

The Doctor nodded silently, just as his infowatch beeped. He checked it. 'Got my first appointment tomorrow morning.'

'Want me to come?'

'Nah,' the Doctor replied. 'I'll be fine.'

They simultaneously took a sip of tea as the storm began the symphony outside.

'Are the kids safe from the disease?' Jack suddenly asked. 'They can't be infected, right?'

The Doctor felt his hearts pang with a flash of sheer frustration, perfectly coinciding with a crack of thunder. 'The kids don't have the strong connection to their mum that I have, so unless it infects me, they should be safe.'

'Should be,' Jack echoed.

The Doctor shook his head. 'Honestly? I don't know. Nothing like that has _ever _happened before. Usually, Lanwa's dies and kills the infected person after six months. But it's got a foothold on infecting gallifreyans. If it does …'

He paused and looked at Jack with a grave expression.

'What?' Jack asked.

'I need you to promise me something.'

'Yeah?'

'If I get infected, I want you to kill me.'

Jack took in a sharp intake of breath. 'I can't.'

'You _have _to,' the Doctor stressed. 'If it infects me, I can't be cured. Then it'll infect the kids, then everyone in Torchwood, then it'll probably take over the UK, Earth, and then the universe, piece by piece … It won't stop, Jack. Please. Promise me you'll kill me.'

'Fuck,' Jack swore.

'Just shoot me in the head, I won't regenerate from that. You have to promise me.'

Jack swallowed. '... Okay.'

'Promise me.'

'... I promise.'

'Thank you.'

* * *

The Doctor didn't sleep. He spent all night analysing the exotronic to the point he could garner no more information, keeping himself busy as the storm came and crashed its way through the night. He was a little surprised that Theo hadn't been disturbed, but the little boy was in something akin to a coma, which had worried the Doctor so much he had ended up checking his breathing a few times. But he was fine.

The storm finally rumbled its last note at dawn, where it parted to leave a beautiful clear early morning sky as Leah appeared in her pyjamas rubbing her eyes, yawning. She looked at him with surprise. 'Are you still up?' she asked, confused.

'Yeah.'

Her hands snapped to her hips in the perfect tiny model of a disgruntled Jackie Tyler impersonator, as the six-year-old equipped those genetically-gifted fiery Tyler "eyes of death" and gazed at him sternly. 'Go to bed, you're sick,' she ordered, as though she was the parent.

He smiled a little. 'No point, I've got my first session in an hour.'

Leah's arms fell to her sides. 'Oh,' she said, all essence of Jackie Tyler rapidly fading away. 'Can I come?'

'It'll be boring,' he warned her.

'No, it won't,' Leah insisted. 'Can I?'

'Well, if you want to,' he conceded. 'But don't say I didn't warn you.'

She beamed at him and skipped over to the food dispenser. 'Chocolate pancakes with loads of cream!' she demanded of the machine, before adding a hasty, 'please!' on the end. The device rumbled and dinged completion. She got onto her tiptoes to extract the plates of pancakes from the dispenser and wandered back over to him.

She grabbed a fork and immediately got stuck into the small mountain of batter and chocolate. 'Did you eat yet?' she wondered after she'd managed to clear her mouth from the first bite.

'Not yet.'

'Eat something,' she ordered him. 'You need to keep up your strength.'

'Okay, okay,' he conceded and retrieved some fruit to pick at before returning to sit next to her.

'Is that it?' she asked, staring at the few slices of fruit as the outside of her mouth became progressively layered in more and more chocolate sauce as they ate.

'I'm not that hungry.'

'But you're always hungry,' Leah pointed out before she changed the subject. 'So what are they gonna do to you first?'

'They're healing my foot and chest,' he said, nodding down to each in turn. 'It's probably going to be a bone and tissue regeneration chamber.'

'One of those long tube things that looks like a giant baby bottle?'

He smiled. 'Yeah, one of those. Probably going to have to lie in one for a couple of hours. Told you it'd be boring.'

'It'll be even more boring on your own. We can be bored together,' Leah said happily.

His smile broadened. 'Thank you,' he said as he rapidly finished the fruit. She was right. For the first time in a while, he _was _hungrier than that. His eyes drifted to the mountain of pancakes in front of his child.

Leah caught his gaze. 'Get your own.'

He laughed again and got up to do just that.

* * *

'That's the grossest thing _ever_.'

The Doctor followed Leah's gaze across the ward as they waited in the patient lounge, where a woman was standing by the counter covered patches of snotty green rashes.

'Laucominisitis,' the Doctor told her under his breath. 'I had that once.'

She looked up at him and pulled a very twisted face of pure revulsion. 'Eww. _Ewwwww._'

'Still not as bad as Flamaen Pox,' the Doctor added, grinning a little. 'Massive yellow spots with veins all over them, and when they burst, they spray out a load of blood and black pus.'

'Ewww!'

Several people looked at them, including an unfortunate man who was covered in yellow spots.

'Sorry,' the Doctor said seriously, just before the man was called and walked away. The Doctor and Leah exchanged a look, and both snorted with laughter.

'What the grossest disease you've ever had?' Leah wondered.

The Doctor thought that over for a moment. 'Probably back when I was just done travelling with your Auntie Sarah. Something very big, soft and veiny grew on the top of my head that was the size of a football.'

'Ewww!' Leah chorused, looking horrified.

'It kept moving around, and I swear it had a dance routine for Lady Gaga's Poker Face.'

'Ewww. Ewww.'

'That's what I said when it hatched, and my head gave birth to twenty thousand maggots.'

_'Ewwww!'_

'And that's when the maggots started grouping together and formed one big maggot.'

'Okay so now you're lying,' she stated, entirely sure of herself.

'Honestly!' he insisted.

'So what did you do?'

'I had to lure it to the biggest natural hot spring on Earth, Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand, and lead it in. When it died, it exploded, and I had to turn up to a meeting of the High Council of Gallifrey covered in maggot guts. Cardinal Borusa wasn't amused.'

'This story stopped being true forever ago.'

He smirked. 'Did it?' he wondered, leaving his little girl to ponder that with a face of horror just as his name was called.

* * *

Leah stayed with him for the entire process, which was, just as her daddy had said, incredibly dull. But since he was the one stuck in a tube with lights running all over him, she took it upon herself to make him happy. That was, after all, her self-made job now.

After two hours and a lot more talk about disgusting diseases to the quandary of an unfortunate nurse in the room with them, he was finally let out. Leah watched, mesmerised, as the man who'd hobbled in with a crutch and the weight of a thousand ills on his shoulders suddenly emerged standing somehow taller than she ever remembered, and immediately smiled at her.

'Are you fixed?' Leah asked.

He briefly tested his ankle and took in a deep breath to check his chest. 'Oh, _much _better,' he said, grinning. 'I forgot what oxygen was.'

Leah giggled as the nurse walked over and indicated for him to sit on an examination bed. She checked his pulse and carefully felt the bones of his ankle and chest through his skin.

'It is still all there?' the Doctor joked.

The nurse smiled. 'It looks like everything has aligned itself, although we'll need to do a scan and an examination to double-check,' she told him.

'Oh, that'll take a while,' he realised, wincing. He looked at Leah. 'You can head off if you like, this'll be another hour.'

'Um, are you sure?'

'Yep. See you back at our room in a couple of hours if Theo hasn't destroyed it.'

'Okay.'

He nodded. 'And thank you again.'

She beamed. 'You're welcome,' she said happily, jumping up to give him a hug and a kiss before running out of the door, and straight to the lift.

'Good morning, Leah. Where would you like to go?' Panacea's voice asked.

'Um, the library please.'

'Of course. On exiting the lift, you will find the section on Lanwa's disease three rows to your right.'

Leah blinked, astonished. 'Um, how did you-'

'Please speak to me if you need any more information. If not, please enjoy the ride. Your journey will be an estimated further 78 seconds.'


	5. The Pleaneas Games

**A/N: **Oh, veeeery late! But it is 5k words so it's quite a long one.**  
**

This is honestly your last chapter full of pure and fluffy funtimes before things get super dark and angsty, so enjoy the moment :P

Additional credit for this chapter (particularly the games) goes to the incomparable the-writer1988, who is a shiny star in an abyss, and never fails to encompass everything that is right with this world.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Pleaneas Games

Two hours later the Doctor stepped into a lift, feeling significantly more energetic than just four hours ago. He didn't need his crutch anymore, and all his examinations had revealed everything was healing correctly. Even with a walking boot his ankle still didn't like pressure very much, but it was improving every second. His lungs were also finally allowed to expand freely, enabling him to take in more breath than he had done since he'd been shot.

His various array of scars and nicks he'd picked up were also gone, including the deep scar on his wrist where the poison had been injected and the incision where Martha's team had performed surgery. The arm itself was still very pale, but his general complexion was certainly more colourful. When he'd caught himself in a mirror he looked much less like the walking dead.

'Hello, Doctor, I'm glad the treatment went well,' Panacea greeted as he stepped in. 'Where would you like to go?'

'My room, thanks.'

'Certainly.'

The doors began to close.

'Please hold the lift!' someone cried. The Doctor stuck his foot out to trigger the door sensors, allowing a jarginian woman to reach him. He recognised her as the one he'd briefly talked to at the induction.

'Thank you,' she said breathlessly as she entered with her gills flapping appreciatively.

'Where are you headed?' the Doctor asked.

'Living quarters section Red 45,' she replied.

'Same here,' the Doctor replied with a smile as the lift doors closed and they began to move.

She smiled in return. 'We must be on the same corridor! You were at the induction, weren't you?'

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed. 'I'm the Doctor, what's your name?'

'Jinu,' she answered.

'Don't suppose I have to ask what you're here for?' the Doctor joked, looking at her swollen fins on her arms to indicate she was near spawning her young. 'Congratulations.'

She laughed. 'You guessed it. Thank you.'

'When's spawning day?'

'Three weeks ago,' she replied, winded.

'Oh. Any signs yet?'

She shook her head and took a deep breath from her waterbreath device in her hand. 'Nothing. That's why I finally decided to come here, but my spawn partner had to stay at home and look after the fry. We didn't have enough money to bring everyone here.'

'You're on your own?'

'Yes,' she answered.

'Well, if you need anything, I'm happy to help,' the Doctor told her.

Her gills flapped again to show she appreciated that. 'Thank you. What are you here for?'

'Paralysis, among other things,' the Doctor told her, pointing at his bad arm.

'Oh, sorry,' she said, gazing at his arm. 'I hear that's hard to cure.'

'Well, from what I've heard about Panacea, I'm hopeful,' the Doctor replied.

'I know, isn't she great?' Jinu said happily. 'I've never known technology like her. It's amazing what they can do these days, isn't it? I don't know why I've not heard about her until I got here.'

'Me neither,' the Doctor mused.

The lift stopped and the doors opened to the Red 45 section. They stepped out together and headed down the corridor, where Jack was coming the other way.

'Oh, was just about to look for you,' Jack said, and looked at Jinu, spreading a charismatic smile. 'Cap'n Jack Harkness. Can I just say, you've got a beautiful dorsal fin. I've never seen one so big.'

'Stop it,' the Doctor warned. 'This is Jinu.'

Jinu smiled as her gills flapped again. 'Oh, I don't mind! Thank you. It's nice to meet you.'

'Jinu's on her own,' the Doctor told Jack.

'We can't have that,' Jack said, maintaining that pearly white smile. 'We're in number 67. If you need anything, just head on down to us, okay?'

'Oh, you're both so nice,' Jinu said happily. 'Thank you.'

'Anytime. You have a great day.'

'I will,' she said and disappeared into her room.

'Really?' the Doctor asked Jack seriously.

'What?' Jack asked innocently.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'Is Leah back yet?'

'Not yet,' Jack answered, and looked at him. 'Wow. You look good. Are you healed?'

'Pretty much,' the Doctor said. 'Just got to wear the ankle boot for two days.'

'What about your chest?'

'Yep, that too,' the Time Lord confirmed, taking in a deep breath to demonstrate, stretching his good arm. 'I can't run a marathon for a week, but besides that, it's cured.'

Jack grinned. 'This place is incredible. Are you booked for surgery, yet?'

'Not yet,' the Doctor replied. 'I've got a consultation tomorrow.'

'All right,' Jack said. 'Let's find out where Leah is and have some fun … if you're happy to do that.'

The Doctor, to Jack's surprise, spread a smile. 'Yeah.'

Jack grinned back. 'She work her magic on you too?'

'I think she did,' the Doctor confessed.

They were suddenly interrupted by Theo toddling with quite a pace into the corridor still dressed in his pyjamas, hugging his dad's leg tightly.

'Hi,' the young gallifreyan mumbled, with his face pressed into his dad's trouser leg.

'Hi,' the older gallifreyan replied. 'Have a good sleep?'

'Dream I'm a big fish.'

'You had a dream you were a big fish?' the Doctor repeated. 'What kind of fish?'

'Yeah. A swimmy swim fish.'

'Yeah, that's a common kind of fish,' the Doctor agreed.

Theo beamed up at him and suddenly started running to the lift. The Doctor just caught him by his shirt collar, stopping him in his tracks.

_'Please _stop running off,' he begged.

'Sowwee,' the boy said sweetly, though the Doctor knew he wasn't in the least bit sorry.

He sighed. 'Okay. Panacea, where's Leah?'

_'Leah is currently in the library,' _her voice replied from the infowatch.

'Okay, let's get Theo dressed, round up Leah and explore.'

* * *

Leah was sitting in the library in a quiet reading pod, with numerous old dusty tomes stacked around her. She was nose-deep in one particular book which was detailing the case of a man who had been infected by Lanwa's, and had travelled to a holy shrine in the Tuvara System where he'd prayed for three days and nights straight, and had been cured.

While she didn't believe in the power of prayer so much, her logical mind ticked over the thought that maybe there had been something in the air or some other particles of this particular location that had been crucial to expelling the Lanwa's.

However, despite Panacea's helpful assistance, Leah hadn't yet been able to find any details on anything useful - not even the name of the planet that the shrine was on. All she had was a very old photo print of a shrine and a vague star system reference point for its location.

She knew her dad would probably know, but she wasn't sure if she should tell him before she knew all the information. She didn't want to get his hopes up.

_'Leah, your father, your uncle and your brother are headed towards you. They will be here in one minute,' _Panacea suddenly said.

Leah panicked and slammed the book shut, a plume of dust exploding out of the ancient pages and nearly choking her.

_'Would you like me to put the books back?'_ Panacea asked.

'Yes, please,' Leah said keenly after she'd managed to stop coughing, checking over her shoulder.

In a small beep and a whoosh, all of the books were gone. Leah jumped up and ran out of the reading pod, winding her way through the thousands of shelves to the entrance, just in time for them to arrive.

'Hi!' she said quickly, out of breath.

'Find anything good?' her daddy asked.

She shrugged, tugging awkwardly on her earlobe. 'Nothing!' she blasted loudly, and rapidly changed the subject. 'So what are we doing?'

Her daddy looked at her strangely, but continued regardless, 'thought we'd explore. Sound good?'

She nodded quickly.

* * *

It quickly became evident that some big event was happening - as soon as they'd stepped into the park, they were utterly bombarded by lights, music, food, and people chattering excitedly in small clusters throughout the vicinity.

'What's going on?' Leah wondered. 'It wasn't like this yesterday.'

'Hi there, patients and friends!' a happy voice suddenly said, as a small alien attendant in a red cap marked "Fun Facilitator" seemed to pop out of nowhere to greet them on Leah's cue. 'What a beautiful day for the Pleaneas Games, don't you agree?'

The group of time travellers exchanged a look. 'What's that?' Leah asked.

'What's that?' the man said disbelievingly with an ever-present smile plastered on his face. 'You must be new! We have the Pleaneas Games every month! It's a huge, super fun challenge where teams of two people from all areas of Pleaneas play a series of games to earn points. Whoever earns the most points in the games wins a special prize!'

'What sort of games?' Leah asked, quickly interested.

'Well, young lady, we have an array of challenges both mental and physical to suit absolutely everyone!' he replied enthusiastically. 'There are ten games in total scattered throughout the park, which you can visit throughout the day, complete, and who knows, you could win our mystery star prize!'

'What's the prize?'

'Well, it wouldn't be a mystery if you knew, would it?' the man teased. 'Would you like to play?'

Leah's head snapped to look at her father. 'Can we? Daddy? Please?'

'Why not?' the Doctor said, shrugging slightly.

'Excellent!' the man said happily, raising a datapad. 'You can have two to a team. Who'd like to play?'

'Me!' Leah yelled, her hand immediately shooting up. 'I want Uncle Jack on my team.'

'Thanks,' the Doctor said, raising an eyebrow as Jack grinned.

'I think he needs more help than you do,' Leah said, entirely deadpan.

'Thanks,' Jack echoed the Time Lord disgruntledly.

'Looks like it's you and me, Theo,' the Doctor said to his boy, ruffling his hair. Theo beamed up at him.

'Excellent!' the man exclaimed joyously, making a note on his datapad. 'You're now signed in. you'll find a map of the park on your infowatches, and anytime you need directions to the next game, just ask Panacea to show you the way! Have a great day!'

'Will do,' the Doctor assured him, as the man left with a hop and a skip and Leah's attention turned to her infowatch, which was projecting a tiny hologram of a map marking a big red dot.

'What's the first game?' Jack asked.

'Spiral Slider,' Leah read.

'All right, and remember kids, it's just for fun,' Jack said.

All three gallifreyans, young and old, looked at him in a very strange way.

'Oh yeah, forgot who I was with.'

* * *

'The rules of this one are simple!' another happy attendant in a red cap was saying. 'As you go down the Spiral Slider, you'll find gold tokens hanging at certain points. Simply touch as many tokens as possible, and the team with the most touches at the end of the slide wins!'

'Do we have to go down the slide together as a team?' Leah wondered.

'You can either go down the slide together or individually, it's all about your technique!' the attendant chimed.

Jack watched as the Doctor leant down to Theo, speaking conspiratorially. He nudged Leah. 'Us versus a guy with one arm and a little kid? It's in the bag.'

She giggled. 'What do we do?'

'Go down separately,' Jack said. 'You think?'

'Okay,' Leah said, as the Doctor finally drew away from Theo, and shot Jack and Leah a smile Jack remembered Rose dubbed his "I've got a plan that's going to ensure you'll never take over this planet" expression. That slightly unnerved Jack, but he just smiled back, trying to look confident.

'Who's first?' the joyful attendant asked, looking between the two teams.

'Oh, be my guest,' the Doctor invited Jack and Leah, gesturing for them to go to the top of the slide first.

'No, after you,' Jack replied.

'No really, I insist,' the Doctor said.

'But _I _insist,' Jack maintained.

'Oh, come on,' Leah moaned, taking Jack's hand to drag him to the top of the slide as Theo giggled. Leah all-but pushed Jack forwards to step up and be the first.

'Please climb into the Spiral Slider, maintaining a firm grip on the safety rails, and let go whenever you're ready, sir,' the attendant informed him.

Jack obligingly climbed in, shot the rest of them a wink, and let go. Half a second later, he was gone, and he was screaming.

Leah and Theo both simultaneously giggled as the cries of Uncle Jack reverberated away down the slide. The observation monitor was showing his point of view, slipping round and round in a dizzying descent. Everyone in the vicinity was watching and cheering the screen, with the attendant giving a running commentary as Jack just managed to scrape the stars with the very tips of his fingers, lurching around wildly with his score whooshing up.

After ninety seconds, it was over. He plopped out of the bottom of the tunnel as a newborn, jumped up, and waved at the others now looking out the window at him far down below.

'Forty-five points, what a great score!' the attendant chimed happily into a microphone that boomed around the room. 'Let's give him a cheer, folks!'

Everyone did, waving their hands in the air as the screen graphics and music reached a tremendous crescendo.

'My turn!' Leah insisted, jumping into the slide. Almost immediately she let go of the safety rails and whizzed off down with a yelp of joy. The Doctor watched, only somewhat tense, as his little girl disappeared and the camera showed her careering down the slide at quite a pace, hitting stars left, right, and centre and racking up dozens of points as she flew by.

By the time she came out at the end, she had 121 points and the biggest smile on her face.

'Wow!' the attendant yelled with delight. 'That's a new high score! I've never seen anything like that, folks! Let's give her the biggest cheer of the day!'

The noise was deafening as the crowd roared, and Leah bowed in all directions. The Doctor kept an eye on Theo, who thankfully didn't seem to be scared.

Then, it was their turn.

'Right, so I've only got one arm and you're not even three feet tall so this'll be a challenge,' the Doctor admitted. 'But we can do it, just like we planned, all right?'

'Yeah,' Theo said.

The Doctor clambered into the tube, and Theo scrambled to sit in his lap, held secure by his dad's arm sling.

'Ready?' the Doctor asked.

'Yeah!' Theo cried.

'Go!'

They reached the end with a highly respectable 120 tokens, but it wasn't enough to beat Jack and Leah's combined score. Jack and Leah took the win for 1-0.

* * *

The Doctor was grinning at Jack and Leah as they reached the next event - Pirate Beard's Treasure - an obstacle course to reach some glowing treasure on top of an elevated platform, set behind a wide array of climbing frames, slides, pits, ropes, and various other challenges.

They had to nominate one person for the obstacle course as they all queued on the start line.

'Why's Daddy grinning?' Leah asked seriously in a murmur to her teammate.

Jack sighed. 'Because he's got the most hyperactive kid that's ever been produced anywhere by anyone in the whole of time and space.'

'Oh,' Leah realised, looking at her little brother across the start line, who was getting a pep talk from his father while jumping up and down like an impatient spring.

'I'll go,' Jack offered. 'There's some seriously tall stuff here, he can't get up _that _quick.'

'Okay.'

Jack and Theo stood poised on the start line, waiting for the cue to go as the spectators gathered in anticipation to watch the group who seemed to be smashing course records.

'Three … two … one … GO!'

And they were off, with Theo, despite only having just mastered the art of running without falling over, immediately leaving his uncle behind. Jack hadn't even reached the first five-foot-high obstacle before the little boy was over the top and gone in a plume of dust.

Somehow, Jack already knew he'd lost. This was confirmed ninety seconds later when the 14-month-old had obviously already finished and broken the course record and was now heading back to the start line over the obstacles completely unnecessarily.

Jack sighed as he fell over into some mud for the fifth time.

1-1.

* * *

The next game was dubbed "Super Brain", a quiz with quickfire questions. As soon as it had started, it quickly became apparent that although there were supposed to be four players, there were only two - Leah and the Doctor, locked into a battle of wits against each other.

'Who is the current monarch of Greebius 9?' the quizmaster asked.

_Ding! _'Queen Altrueia,' the Doctor answered.

'Correct. If I had a frik'shun, what would I do with it?'

_Buzz! _'Wear it!' Leah yelled.

'Correct. At the battle of Entin Fa Quor, who was fighting who?'

_Ding! _' 'The Republic versus the Front of Entin Fa Quor.'

'Correct! Name one of the fundamental principles of Eishaw physics.'

_Buzz! _'Duo particle acceleration!'

'Correct!'

As the quiz continued, Theo and Jack found themselves playing eye tennis as the Doctor and Leah batted backwards and forwards with no assistance from their teammates. Finally, after five minutes of intense intellectual battle, it all came down to a final question:

'How many squilunkles are in a plantoon?'

_Ding! _'Forty-five,' the Doctor answered.

The quizmaster paused for a moment as the crowd watched, silent with anticipation. '... Correct!'

'Yay!' Theo cried as the crowd cheered and applauded.

Jack consoled Leah. 'Tough gig, kid,' he said as she harrumphed.

2-1.

* * *

The following event, Moneybags, was about finding tokens in random pools of soups and goo. The Doctor nominated the hyperactive Theo to take on the challenge, while Jack opted for a methodical Leah, hoping that her logic could beat Theo's speed.

The kids went head to head, scrambling to find the tokens as the clock counted down and the spectators cheered them on. Leah managed to complete it three seconds before the timer ran out, but Theo had already won a minute earlier with another course record and had turned his attention to throwing goo at the bystanders with plenty of giggles.

3-1.

* * *

Next up was "Monster Hunt", a game to find a token in a large, confusing maze.

Jack fancied their chances. While he and Leah worked flawlessly together to navigate the maze with reasoning and Leah's gallifreyan sensory edge, the Doctor found the event somewhat difficult. Theo kept trying to climb the walls and very quickly got them both disqualified.

3-2.

* * *

The next game, "Sky Drops" was about falling in low gravity while speeding through glowing suspended hoops in the fastest time.

Jack didn't feel very positive, as Theo's clear advantage of being quite small and light proved fatal to his and Leah's chances as the little boy whizzed through every hoop in another record-breaking run.

4-2.

* * *

'This is our game,' Jack decided as they stepped up to "Laser Boats", a game where they had to shoot targets on each other's boats with laser fire, with one driving and one shooting.

He'd been right. With Theo unable to drive, the Doctor's sharpshooter aim wouldn't be a danger, and Jack had clocked up a lot of hours of target practice. As Theo decided to shoot in completely random directions much to the Doctor's chagrin, Jack took their targets out with ex-Time Agent precision with plenty of time to spare.

4-3.

* * *

"Maths Guru" ensured Jack and Leah were the ones smiling, with both of them knowing full well that the Doctor - although very good at maths - wasn't as gifted as his daughter. Once again it was a father and daughter face-off, and their assumptions proved correct when Leah stormed ahead in the computational exercises and took the win over her father by a fair margin for another record-breaking performance.

Jack watched the Doctor in the aftermath of Leah's win, quickly realising that although the grown-up gallifreyan was extremely competitive, he didn't mind this one. It was the first time has little girl had legitimately beaten him at anything, and he was very happy.

4-4.

* * *

They arrived at the final stage, being followed by a rapt crowd who had rapidly become their personal entourage.

'It's been an amazing games with these two very special teams,' the announcer said. 'Between them, they've broken five all-time course records! Let's hear a cheer for them!'

The crowd roared. Leah obligingly bowed to the crowd as Theo was copied his big sister, and the Doctor stood there slightly awkwardly with Jack looking on in amusement.

'However, the scores are tied, so it's all to play for in our final game - the Final Showdown! In this game, the teams each nominate a player to face off in a one-to-one water fight. Each player will receive a water pistol and become a living, breathing target. The first to douse their opponent in enough water will take the win, and overall victory in the entire games!'

The crowd cheered again. Jack and the Doctor connected gazes, just before they were ushered away to separate preparation areas.

'Quick, get on my shoulders to see if you can see who they're putting forward,' Jack said to Leah, who obligingly climbed up onto his shoulders and peeked over the wall. 'See anything?'

'Nope,' Leah whispered back, and he lowered her again.

'Okay, let's think. He's not gonna nominate Theo,' Jack muttered. 'The kid's quick, but he's had a long day and he's not got much power. Your dad'll come out, and he won't wanna touch you. So you should go out.'

'Yeah, but, he'll know that you know that. So he'll send out Theo to surprise us,' Leah pointed out.

'But then he's risking having you two fighting and no one wants that. So he'll come out instead.'

'But what if he knows that we know he'll bluff so then he does a double bluff and he sends out Theo? Cos you wouldn't touch Theo.'

'Yeah, but does he know that we know that he knows that?'

'If he knows that we know that he knows that we know he knows, then he won't know that we know, y'know?'

'Err, say that again?'

Leah sighed. 'Okay, you go out.'

'Sure?'

'Yeah. And if it's Theo you gotta suck it up and take him down, mmkay? He's a baby, not a china teapot.'

Jack grinned at Leah's rather ruthless expression. He could see her mum so clearly in her, like it was a late night in Torchwood and Rose was losing a board game.

He vaguely wondered if that would ever happen again.

'Got it,' he said, just as the announcer called forward the players. He rolled back his shoulders, loosening up, before heading out into the arena. He received a water pistol on the way from an attendant, and quickly found himself face-to-face with the Doctor, who was also wielding a water pistol.

The Doctor gave him a very wide smile that just had a slight edge of sinister to it.

'Fancy yourself, do you?' Jack wondered.

'Summer 2009,' the Doctor replied.

Jack recalled that summer, where Leah had been just nine-months-old. It had been a terrible year for weather, so the Torchwood team had moaned and moaned until Jack had convinced the Doctor to take them to some hot planet for a day out. It had ended up being a trip to a little known planet with three suns and the most stunning beaches. The heat had been extraordinary, and the day out had quickly turned into a free-for-all water fight. The Doctor, teamed up with Rose, had single-handedly annihilated all of Torchwood with trained soldier precision.

'It's cos he's two-dimensional, no one can hit a movin' beanpole,' Rose had joked to them all.

Now the moving beanpole was standing in front of him just like before, only slightly hampered by one dead arm and a healing ankle. Maybe, Jack thought, he had the edge.

'Take your positions!' the announcer cried into his PA system. Both the Doctor and Jack stepped back to the marks indicated in the soil and simultaneously readied their water pistols. The Doctor kicked into the dirt to create a foothold to launch himself, so Jack copied him.

The crowd fell silent as the tension music began.

'Three, two, one … GO!'

The crowd erupted as the horn sounded to signify the start of the game. Jack immediately took a shot, but completely missed the Time Lord as he ducked to his right. The Doctor fired a shot, which only just caught Jack in the arm.

'First hit!' the attendant cried.

Jack responded with a very well-placed shot at the Doctor's trailing leg. The Doctor moved as quick as lightning, dashing to his left and taking another shot at Jack. This time, he hit him in the chest. Jack reacted immediately in kind, dousing the Time Lord in a spray of water to even up the scores.

Jack dived to the ground and did a commando roll, though not quick enough to outsmart the Doctor, who anticipated where he was going and hit his back. Jack propelled himself forward and shot at the Doctor's head, soaking him and his erratic hair.

'Just one more shot wins the game, folks!' the commentator cried as the crowd roared.

Jack did another unnecessary roll and ended up on one knee with his gun pointing straight at the Doctor. This was it. The Time Lord had nowhere to run.

The Doctor suddenly cried out, his gun hand dropping to hold his side as he collapsed to his knees, groaning. The entire crowd suddenly fell quiet as confusion and worry set in. Jack hesitated. The Doctor wasn't getting up, just gasping on the ground in pain.

'Doctor?' he asked, anxious. He got up, moving forward and stooping to his best friend.

As quick as lightning, the Doctor suddenly turned over and shot at Jack's head. He hit it right in the centre, dousing the immortal in a torrent of water. A horn honked, and it was suddenly game over.

Jack very quickly realised what had happened. 'You … you utter ba-'

The crowd's sudden uproar conveniently cut off anything else Jack might've said as the Doctor jumped up, dusting himself off and grinning.

'Sorry,' he said only half-seriously to the ex-Time Agent, utterly soaked.

'No, you're not.'

'Nope, not really,' the Doctor admitted as Theo and Leah ran to them.

'You idiot!' Leah moaned to her teammate. 'You fell for that!'

'I thought he was hurt!' Jack protested.

'It's the oldest trick in the book! What are you, three!?'

'After that amazing showdown and incredible tactical play, we have our tournament winners!' the announcer cried over the crowd's cheers. 'Give it up for the Doctor and Theo!'

The crowd cheered some more and started chanting their names. The Doctor looked at Theo, who was wide-eyed and delighted, if a little nervous, and then at Leah, who was glaring, Tyler-style, at her suckered teammate.

He moved to her. 'Not annoyed, are you?'

'Only at him,' she said, pointing at Jack.

He laughed and dropped to hug her as the fireworks exploded and the crowd roared around them.

* * *

They arrived back at their room at 7pm, with an extremely tired Theo and Leah in tow. They both went to bed, and the Doctor and Jack rallied in the eating area.

'What you gonna do with the prize?' Jack wondered, looking at the golden tablet the Doctor had discarded on the table, giving free medical treatment for the duration of a patient's stay.

The Doctor thought for a moment and then raised his wristwatch. 'Panacea?'

_'Good evening, Doctor,' _her tinny voice said. _'How can I help?' _

'Do you know Jinu in Red 45?'

_'Yes, I have records on that patient.'_

'Can you give her my free medical treatment prize?'

'_Of course. Who should I say it's from?'_

The Doctor paused, thinking briefly about his answer as Jack gazed at him in anticipation. '... A friend.'

_'Of course,' _she affirmed, and the golden tablet disappeared.

Jack looked at the Doctor. 'What time's the surgery tomorrow?'

'Consultation at 10, surgery at 1,' he replied.

'You worried?'

The Doctor paused, looking briefly at his paralysed arm, then in the direction his children were sleeping, before looking back up at Jack. '... Yeah.'


	6. Enter the Celene

**A/N: **Since I was so incredibly useless on the timing of the last posting, I pushed this one through SUPER fast, yay!

For now on, it's whumpville. Hold on tight.

I'm planning a review reply on the next chapter. THAT'S the very interesting one … :D

* * *

Chapter 6: Enter the Celene

'Jackie, I'm fine,' the Doctor was saying into the phone for roughly the 50th time that morning as Jack wandered into the main living area, yawning and stretching. 'Still here, still breathing … No, I'm not being rude, I … Yes, I have surgery today … They know what they're doing … It's a risk but … Jackie, no … Jackie … Jackie ...'

Jack retrieved a coffee for himself and took a seat opposite him, raising an eyebrow.

'… Yes, the kids are fine … Jack's here … they're fine! … No, they're still asleep … I need … Jackie, I need to … I need to go … Yes, I've got an appointment and ... Jackie … Jackie! … Jackie, I need to go … Jackie … Jackie … Jackie … bye! … I said, bye!'

The Doctor hung up the phone with a very enthusiastic thumb-press onto the screen.

'... How's the mother-in-law?' Jack said facetiously, grinning.

The Doctor's tried gaze drifted to him, utterly deadpan. 'Y'know, sometimes I think to myself, if I hadn't decided to turn left at the Frugala system and ended up in that junkyard on Earth with Susan, I might never have met Jackie Tyler.'

Jack laughed. 'Is she all right? How's Kiki? How's Torchwood going? Earth still exist?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'No idea, didn't get that far.'

'You were on the phone to her for half an hour.'

'Yep, as I said, didn't get that far,' the Doctor repeated.

Jack laughed again. 'Yeah, I'll call 'em later. What time's your surgery?'

'Got a briefing in ten minutes and then I'm going straight in.'

'I'll come with you.'

The Doctor watched him for a moment, the mood in the room suddenly changing.

'What?' Jack asked.

'Jack, if you're coming along just to try and talk me out of it, you'll be wasting your breath,' the Doctor said. 'I'd also be having the same conversation for the fourth time. If I _wanted _to have the same conversation four times, I'd time travel back to Donna and try and explain how to change a plug again.'

Jack raised his hands in the air submissively. 'Hey, you know I don't think it's a good idea. I don't wanna be talking to Theo in ten years about what his parents were like when they were alive. Face it, Doc, you're pretty weak at the moment, you're not very happy, and you haven't even slept properly since Rose … y'know.'

'Yeah, I know,' the Doctor replied instantly, clearly a little irritated by that.

'Sorry,' Jack said immediately. 'I just wanna make sure you know what risk you're taking, here.'

'Jack, of _course _it's a huge risk. But I've got to do this. I _need _to do this. You get it, don't you?'

Jack internally sighed. He wasn't convinced, but it was like talking to a brick wall. All that was left to do was try and support the brick wall as best he could. 'All right. When are you leaving?'

The Doctor stood up. 'Let me say bye to the kids. Meet you at the lift in ten minutes.'

* * *

_You don't have to do this. Please, please think about it._

The Doctor completely ignored his subconscious as he and Jack walked into the consultation room ten minutes later and greeted the Head Surgeon - a pink-haired messean who was already suited up in a clean white outfit and ready to start cutting into him.

'Good morning,' he greeted. 'My name's Fargai, I'll be heading up your operation today, Doctor. If you're happy to go ahead, please take a seat at the examination table and I'll explain the procedure.'

'Ta,' the Doctor said and jumped into the seat in front of a squeaky clean metal table in the centre of the room. He felt Jack hovering at his shoulder, unusually quiet, watching the surgeon closely as he approached.

'I'll explain the procedure in detail. If at any point you have any questions or change your mind, please don't hesitate to let me know.'

'Got it,' the Doctor replied, giving a mock salute.

'If you'd like to place your arm on the table.'

The Doctor nodded, using his good arm to pick his paralysed one out of its protective sling. Jack had to help him get it out of his jacket and shirt so he could place it, fully exposed and completely lifeless, onto the table.

'The procedure has five stages,' the surgeon began, pulling out a thick black pen. 'First, fusing, then melding, then somatic melding, then supplementary, and then completion.' He drew a precise and thick black line with the pen down the middle of the Doctor's inner arm from the left side of his wrist to the right side of his inner elbow. 'We will cut down the path of your flexor carpi radialis muscle, from the flexor retinaculum to the area of the medial epicondyle. This will create an access point for the exotronic's metal blade to be inserted and fused to your radius bone as the main anchor to make the exotronic strong, immovable, and a part of you. That's stage one, and will take three hours to complete.'

'Ow,' the Doctor heard Jack muttered under his breath. He had to agree with that one.

_They don't even know the right names for your anatomy …_

He ignored her again.

'Stage two is fusing. We'll use a series of screws, plates and brackets to firmly secure the exotronic to your skin and radius bone to strengthen it even more. This involves six holes being drilled in the posterior of the hand, and lower and upper arm, and screws and rods inserted in these holes.'

The surgeon gently turned the Doctor's arm over, and drew one circle on the back of his hand, one on his wrist, one halfway up the lower arm, and three more grouped closely together on the back side of his upper arm near the shoulder.

'We'll also be cutting off small squares of skin, down to the dermis layer. This will enable the exotronic to sit comfortably on your arm for a perfect fit. The fusing stage will take five and a half hours.'

The surgeon drew several squares spaced evenly up his hand and arm.

'Stage three is somatic melding, which will take three and a half hours. We'll connect the exotronic to your nervous system, where it will act as a simple extension to the peripheral nervous system. The exotronic is designed to be adaptable, meaning on initial boot, it will listen to the unique signals of your nervous system and calibrate itself to prevent itself being controlled by the autonomic nervous system.'

'Wait, what?' Jack asked, confused.

'It'll stop the exotronic doing involuntary movements,' the Doctor clarified. 'When it initially boots up, it'll read my system, install any patches to harmonise with me, and that stops it moving on its own. Right?'

The surgeon nodded. 'Correct.'

_So when the hell are you gonna tell him your somatic and autonomic nervous systems are wired up to the same thing?_

'After somatic melding, it's what we call the supplementary. This is just some initial physical and software calibration and quality checks to make sure the exotronic is fitted properly and able to function. This takes one hour. Then, the surgery is complete.'

'What about the gaping holes left in his arm?' Jack wondered.

'At this point, we wait seventy-two hours, to allow acclimatisation to the exotronic and for the swelling to reduce, as well as monitoring for any post-surgery complications,' the surgeon replied. 'We'll then regenerate the skin and repair any damage with a specially calibrated bone and tissue regenerator. At this point, the exotronic should feel completely a part of you, and you will be entered into daily familiarisation sessions to allow you the chance to practice controlling the exotronic in a controlled environment.'

'Right,' the Doctor said, staring at his arm now daubed with black marks. 'When do we get started?'

'I must remind you, this is the last point at which you can withdraw from the procedure,' the surgeon said.

'No, thanks,' the Doctor said immediately, shooting a smile at the surgeon. 'When you're ready.'

'Wait, Doc,' Jack began.

_'Fourth _conversation,' the Doctor reminded him.

'This is seriously invasive, Doc. We can try therapy. Yeah, it'll take longer, but you're talking about thirteen-hour surgery here, plus the rest.'

_Please, listen to him._

'I've already decided,' the Doctor told both Jack and his subconscious. He looked back at the surgeon and nodded. 'Where do I sign?'

* * *

Jack stayed with the Doctor during pre-op, making nervous chat as the medical staff did their final pokes and prods, he signed consent forms, and they got him prepped. As Jack watched them escort the Time Lord off into the surgery room, it almost felt like he was never going to see him again.

Jack knew it was a ridiculous feeling, but he wished for once the Doctor would have at least _tried _to listen to him before proceeding with that dogged determination. But that was the Time Lord all over, and there was nothing Jack could do about that.

Jack headed back on Leah and Theo, giving them the update on their dad. Theo was too young to fully understand the implications, but Leah was very nervous, he could tell. Probably even more nervous than he felt. Despite his trepidation, he reassured her as best he could, and his comforting words were enough for her to relax a bit.

The hours ticked slowly by, and they all stayed in the living quarters playing games. Eventually, as evening came, Jack granted Leah custody of her little brother and promptly headed off to one of the planet's many bars for a drink. He knew it wasn't responsible, but he needed to quell the tension somehow and that wasn't going to happen when he was sitting in their living quarters in silence, waiting for communication from Panacea about some terrible unforeseen complications that had resulted in one dead or regenerated Time Lord.

He found a quiet bar near the botanical gardens and used the Doctor's psychic paper to get some free drinks in, sitting on his own and trying to focus on some strange alien sports match showing on the monitor. Around two hours into his evening, the match ended, and he decided he'd have to finish his drink and go back to Leah and Theo.

_'At Pleaneas, we're at the forefront of cutting medical treatments,' _an advert said as Jack stood up and reached for his coat. _'This month, we're proud to unveil our new therapy room - the Celene.'_

As he pulled on his coat, he looked up at the screen to see a video of a camera panning an extremely technologically-advanced room, that was quite dark and featureless besides lines of blue neon running through the walls.

_'The Celene is a centre for those patients who feel they would benefit from interactive therapy. Using psychobiological technology, Panacea can generate an accurate representation of any dead loved one and reassemble them in the Celene as a hologram for you to speak with.'_

The made Jack stop in his tracks. The video showed a hologrammatic form of an alien smiling kindly, and somebody interacting with it.

_'Any registered patient is eligible to enter the Celene without an appointment. Just ask Panacea for more information, or find the Celene on the 70th floor.'_

There was the now-familiar sting of calming music and the logo flashed up. '_'Pleaneas. We care about you.'_

'Wow,' Jack muttered under his breath. Technically, he was a registered patient. Probably worth a look, he decided.

_'Jack,' _Panacea's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Jack tensed up immediately, his heart skipping a beat as he raised his infowatch. 'What's the news?'

_'The surgery is now complete, ahead of schedule. The Doctor is awake and has an excellent cognitive response. It went very well.'_

Jack smiled, immediately feeling much more relaxed. 'That's great. Where is he?'

_'Surgical recovery ward 46,' _Panacea replied.

'On my way.'

* * *

Jack arrived at the surgery recovery ward where he was immediately met by a nurse, who smiled at him. 'Jack Harkness?'

Jack nodded. 'I'm here to see the Doctor.'

'Of course, Panacea said we should expect you. Please follow me, sir,' the nurse said, leading him through a pair of sliding double doors that opened with a satisfying hiss, giving them way into an extremely impressive-looking ward.

Jam-packed with a host of extremely advanced technology, even ex-Time Agent Jack didn't recognise most of what he was looking at as they made their way down the aisle. There were lots of screens and flashing lights, with mathematical functions blipping in and out of existence and Panacea's voice whispering complex algorithms. Despite the spectrum of electronics dotted around, the general layout of the ward was very Earthlike, with beds lined up the sides, containing people and their families obscured by semi-translucent curtains.

Eventually, they reached the Doctor, who was laying in a bed propped up by pillows, looking exhausted, with slight bags under his eyes. He was dressed in a pristine white hospital-issued bodysuit, with his skin pale enough to match his outfit. His left arm and shoulder were covered with some sort of blue plastic-looking sheet that obscured what was beneath.

'Hey Doc,' Jack said, stepping up next to the bed.

The Doctor looked at him. His eyes were slightly sunken and a little drunk, with a thin sheen of pain. 'Jack?'

'How're you feeling?'

'Terrible,' the Doctor murmured.

'Yeah, you look it,' Jack said, stepping forward and gazing down at the blue sheet covering his arm. 'Can I see?'

'I don't think you want to,' the Doctor croaked.

Jack ignored him and took hold of the sheet, pulling it back. The Doctor's arm was now half metal, with what was left of his skin extremely discoloured, bruised and red. Pieces of metal were thrusting through his arm, fixed with screws that seemed to go all the way through the bones and out the other side. There was even more metal encasing his fingers and thumb, with a further screw drilled into his hand, edged with splatters of dried blood that were partially staining the exotronic.

'Jesus Christ.'

'Told you,' the Doctor muttered.

'Good afternoon,' Panacea's voice suddenly said from beside Jack, making him jump in surprise slightly as her hologram erupted into existence. 'I can see from your vital signs that you are stable, Doctor, and the surgery went well. We had no complications.'

'That's good to know,' the Doctor murmured, half asleep.

'So now we wait?' Jack asked.

'There will be a recovery period of seventy-two hours until we regenerate the bone and skin,' Panacea said. 'Over the next three days, the brain and nervous system will be adapting to the exotronic's new biological bypass system.'

'They're not gonna be a fun few days, are they?' Jack supposed.

'As discussed before, this treatment is very experimental, particularly on a gallifreyan. I could not say what is going to happen as the brain and nervous system adapt. As previously discussed, there is a risk that the exotronic may be rejected altogether. My prediction matrix anticipates a variety of potential side effects, including drowsiness, fever, nausea, fainting, dyspraxia, and confusion.'

'Not much, then,' Jack said, glancing at the Doctor, who appeared to have fallen asleep. He still thought this was a terrible idea, but even if he could change the Doctor's mind it was far, _far _too late. 'So what ward is he staying on?'

'Staying on a ward is optional. I find it's extremely beneficial for patients to return to their living areas to recover from surgery in a calm and friendly atmosphere with friends and relatives, as analysis shows this offers the most positive recovery times. The biosuit he is wearing will monitor and alert me to any issues requiring an emergency response. You and his other guests' assistance in his recovery period is paramount. However, if you prefer, we can keep him on the ward.'

'It's okay, I'll take him and fluff his pillows.'

'I will reassess his condition in three days to ascertain how he's progressing,' Panacea continued. 'If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me immediately.'

* * *

Eventually, he got the half-conscious Time Lord back to their living quarters. Jack settled him into bed, where he immediately closed his eyes and drifted. Jack made sure to keep the mess that was his arm obscured before Leah and Theo were allowed in, and expressly forbid them from looking at the result of the surgery.

Jack sat up with him all night, watching him closely just in case anything happened. It didn't. He just slept soundly, clearly completely taken out by whatever they'd used to put him to sleep with. So as the Time Lord slept and the kids went to bed, Jack took the opportunity to do a little bit of research on the Celene.

When dawn broke, he could see the Doctor was slowly stirring, so he ran off to grab him some breakfast. When he got back he was delighted to find the Doctor lying there with his eyes open, looking a lot less pale than the night before.

'Hey, you're awake. Morning,' Jack greeted.

'Morning,' the Doctor echoed, somewhat lacking energy.

'How are you feeling?'

'Bleh,' he replied.

'You look better. And hey, got you some proper hospital food,' Jack said, giving him some orange juice and toast before taking a seat on the bed.

'Thanks,' the Doctor replied. 'Where are Leah and Theo?'

'Still asleep. They were up pretty late with you.'

'I don't remember that.'

'You _were _pretty out of it,' Jack answered. 'Do you remember any of the surgery at all?

'No,' the Doctor admitted. 'I remember talking with Jackie yesterday, then it all sort of slides into a blur.'

'They must've given you a hell of a good drug,' Jack joked. 'You've lost a whole day. Reminds me of my 21st birthday, except that was a whole week.'

'I've still _got _my arm, then?'

'Yep. Well, half of it,' Jack replied. 'You haven't looked?'

'No.'

'Yeah, I wouldn't if I were you, you'll throw that toast right back up again,' Jack advised as the Doctor bit into a slice. 'Panacea said it was a success. You've just gotta stay in bed for a few days while your body adapts. She doesn't know what side effects you might have, yet.'

'I feel okay. I mean, apart from the seriously painful sensation of my arm being on fire, that is.'

'Yeah, well, that's a given. Hey, and if you're feeling pain, that's good, right? It's a feeling. That's more than you had before.'

'Doesn't _feel _that good, but point taken,' the Doctor conceded, gulping down the juice.

'Oh, meant to ask, have you ever heard of the Celene?'

'Err, nope. What's that?'

'It's here on Pleaneas. Some kinda new technology. It's a psychotherapy thing - it uses your memories to create images of dead people so you can talk to them,' Jack said.

The Doctor paused, raising an eyebrow. _'Definitely _never heard of that before.'

'It's on the 70th level, and you can just walk right in if you're a registered patient.'

'Well, that sounds horrific,' the Doctor mused, finishing his toast. 'Are you thinking of going?'

'I'm thinking it's worth a look.'

The Doctor pulled a face.

'Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you're not even a _little _bit curious.'

The Doctor grinned knowingly. 'Well, don't let me stop you,' he said, 'I'll be fine here if you want to go.'

'I can't leave you here on your own.'

'I won't be on my own, I've got the two little Musketeers and an overly-helpful hologram,' the Doctor pointed out. 'And I feel fine. Honestly, go.'

* * *

Jack took the lift, and in two minutes he found himself at the entrance to the Celene. Considering what happened here, it seemed incredible featureless and empty. There were a few people dotted about in the reception room chatting but were no desks, no checks, no staff - just Panacea standing there in hologram form by the entrance to a large tunnel that had a haze of blue light at the end.

He walked up to Panacea, who hailed him.

'Good morning, Jack,' she greeted. 'I am glad to see the Doctor is so well this morning.'

'You and me both,' he agreed.

'Are you here to visit the Celene?'

'Yeah. How does it work?'

'Simply enter the Celene and stand in front of the aether. Wait a few moments, and your loved one will be created. Who are you hoping to speak with?'

Jack paused, thinking about that seriously for a moment. So many people he knew had died throughout his immortal life that picking just one in a million was impossible. Owen? Tosh? Gray? Ella? He had no idea. '... Surprise me.'

She smiled. 'Very well. Please enter the Celene when you're ready.'

He looked at the tunnel, then back at her as she continued to smile. Then, with slight trepidation, he moved forward.

It seemed disproportionately long, but eventually he emerged at the other end in the place he'd seen in the video - a large circular room that was dark, besides those blue lights flashing around him through the walls like pulsating veins. There were a couple of other people in the area already speaking with holograms quietly, but he couldn't hear their conversations.

He stepped up to the aether as instructed. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, something began to take shape. Matter coalesced, gathering together to make a shape. A humanoid shape, Jack realised quickly, as facial features started to form. First a small nose, and then came a pair of blue eyes. That was followed by a thin mouth with pink lips and some small ears as the body took shape. It was a young woman, he realised. One he didn't recognise whatsoever.

He hoped it would become clearer as the shape defined itself even more into the figure of a beautiful young woman with blue hair, bathed in an ethereal white glow with slightly fuzzy edges.

He had no idea who she was.

'Jack,' she said simply.

Jack blinked in surprise. He was pretty sure the holograms weren't supposed to talk. 'Err, hey. I didn't know you talked.'

She smiled briefly. 'Don't worry about it. You know Theta, don't you?'

That startled Jack slightly, arousing his suspicions. 'You mean the Doctor? Yeah, I know him.'

'I need to talk to him.'

'How can you …?'

'Tell him to come here and see me when he's feeling better,' she said. 'I'm not going to hurt him, I promise. I would never hurt him.'

Jack gazed at her. The sincerity in her eyes was reassuring enough. 'What do you need to speak to him for?'

'He's the only one that can help me,' she said. 'Please. I need him.'

'What's your name?'

She opened her mouth to reply, when suddenly she gasped and put her hand over her mouth, with her eyes darting around as though they were snapping to invisible screens Jack couldn't see. 'No!' she cried, and promptly disappeared in a wash of light, leaving Jack standing waist-deep in a puddle of confusion. He waited a moment to see if she'd come back, but she didn't.

He _really _hoped the Doctor would be able to explain that one.

His infowatch suddenly began to beep, signalling an incoming communication. It was Leah. He answered. 'Hey kid, how's it going?'

_'Uncle Jack you gotta help you gotta come back right now!' _she cried, sounding extremely panicked.

'What? Wait, slow down, what's happened?'

_'It's Daddy! He was talking and then he just stopped!'_

'Stopped!?'

_'He's not moving!'_

'Wait, is he breathing!?'

_'Yeah, but he won't move!'_

'Call Panacea, I'll be back in a sec!' he shouted into the infowatch, and ran.


	7. Recovery

**A/N: **Well, my only words of advice is don't read this at 2am. If you're of a nervous disposition, you may like to skip over a certain portion of this chapter. Though if you are, how on Earth did you get this far into my fics anyway? :P

Review reply imminent! Fire away :)

* * *

Chapter 7: Recovery

Jack arrived back at their living area to find Panacea in the corner, Theo sitting on a chair and Leah in a panic, kneeling on the bed with her fingers pressed to her dad's temple to establish a telepathic connection. The Doctor was lying there in bed just as Jack had left him, only now he didn't seem to be moving.

'Leah? What happened?' Jack asked quickly, moving to check the Doctor's pulse. Still going.

'He was talking and then he froze!' Leah squeaked. 'He says he can feel his limbs but he can't move!'

'All life signs are reading as normal,' Panacea said in that calm, even tone.

Jack turned to Panacea. 'Side effect?' he asked.

'It is not a side effect we have seen before, but it seems to be so.'

'Any idea how long it might last?'

'I do not have enough data in my prediction matrix, but it should last no more than a few hours,' Panacea replied.

'Doc, don't panic. It's just a side effect,' Jack said. 'Temporary stuff.'

Leah closed her eyes a little harder with her face screwed up to get a telepathic reply from him. 'Daddy says he's not panicking, he's just terrified, and also could you sit him up cos he's really uncomfortable.'

Jack smiled as he paused, thinking for a moment. 'All right,' he decided and moved over to the head of the bed. He grabbed the Time Lord under his arms and hauled him to sit up, resting his head in the crook of a pillow to make sure he was comfortable. 'We're gonna stay here today and play some games. Right?'

He looked at Leah and Theo, who both gave a nervous nod.

* * *

Jack had meant to tell the Doctor about the woman in the Celene as soon as the Time Lord had regained the ability to speak, but as the hours passed and the Doctor didn't improve, the issue completely evaporated from his mind.

For three hours they played games and Time Lord remained completely immobile, only really able to blink, move his eyes and have telepathic conversations with Leah. When the kids went for lunch, Jack stayed with him and attempted to communicate telepathically. His grasp of telepathy was extremely limited compared to the gallifreyans, but he managed to get a hold of him so they could have a silent conversation that the kids couldn't hear.

_'It's been hours, Jack,' _the Doctor's voice came into his mind, fading in and out slightly.

_'I know, just give it a little longer,' _Jack replied. _'Hang on in there. Just temporary. We knew something like this might happen. Need anything?'_

_'No.'_

_'Let me know when you get hungry so we can try and feed you somehow.'_

_'I … ugh!'_

Jack braced, looking at him. He hadn't moved. _'What? You okay?'_

_'Sudden ice cream headache,' _he moaned.

_'I'll get Panacea to get something to take away the pain.'_

_'I don't need … ugh ... Okay, yes, good idea,' _the Time Lord conceded.

* * *

The hours dripped by like a leaking tap, and the Doctor only slightly improved. He could now move his mouth to form a few words that came out incredibly slurred, but otherwise. he was completely immobile.

Eventually, despite the Doctor insisting he wasn't hungry, Jack fetched some tomato soup and settled to sit on the bed and feed him like a baby, holding up his head for him.

'Here comes the aeroplane,' Jack joked, winding a spoon filled with soup to the Time Lord's mouth. He managed to swallow it.

'Didja make dat cosh itsh dishgushting,' the Time Lord commented, with a bit of drool escaping the side of his mouth and running down his chin. Jack quickly wiped it clean with a cloth.

'I looked it up, there's a big kitchen somewhere in the depths of this place full of robots that can make meals in three seconds, with cuisine from anywhere in the universe,' Jack told him. 'They use recipe books from planet chefs to make the food.'

'Thish musht be a Delia Shmith one,' the Doctor murmured, drooling again. 'Shtill not as bad ahs her boeuf bourguignon.'

'How the hell did you manage to say boeuf bourguignon?' Jack asked as the Doctor drooled little more. Jack patiently wiped his chin again and scooped up some more soup.

'Gad pleashe no,' the Doctor begged.

'C'mon it can't be that bad,' Jack said and tasted it himself. As the distinct flavour of tomatoes, basil, and mud washed through his mouth he pulled a disgusted face. 'Ugh.'

'Shee?' the Doctor said.

'What the hell is that?' Jack wondered, and then it clicked. 'Oh.'

'Whad?'

'Well you know I said they get it all from recipe books? Well, what if there was a typo in the book? So instead of salt, they put in … silt.'

'Ugh,' the Doctor moaned. Half a second later, his entire body jolted.

'Doc?' Jack asked, dispensing with the spoon.

'Imma fro up,' the Doctor gasped out.

'You're gonna throw up?' Jack asked, and set aside the soup immediately. He took hold of his best friend and turned him on his side, holding his head over the edge of the bed. 'Okay, go.'

The Doctor immediately vomited over the side of the bed in a chorus of coughs and gasps. It felt almost surreal to Jack as he held him, making it went on the floor.

After forty-five seconds he paused, just lying there gasping. Then he threw up two more times and finally seemed to relent. Jack obligingly pulled him to lie on his side on the bed and wiped his face with the cloth to clear the sick and a thin sheen of sweat that had built up. He was like a ragdoll.

'Sorreh,' the Doctor moaned.

'Don't be an idiot, it'll be Delia Smith's tomato and silt soup,' Jack assured him, and quickly noticed he was shaking. He instinctively rested a hand on the Doctor's forehead. 'Wow. Panacea?'

'The biosuit is detecting the Doctor is currently running a fever,' Panacea stated, suddenly appearing in the corner.

'But he's freezing,' Jack muttered, checking the Doctor's pulse. It felt slower than usual.

'I am already administering medications and temperature adjustments to regulate homeostasis through his biosuit, but he is not responding,' Panacea said informatively.

Jack sighed and brushed back the Doctor's hair from his head. He suddenly looked so awful. 'God, sorry,' Jack told him and wiped some more drool away.

'Sh'ok, I felth awful before dah shoup,' the Doctor slurred out. 'Ugh, ederything hurtsh.'

'It'll pass. Just a side effect.'

The Doctor swallowed, a little moan escaping him just as there was a sudden knock on the door. 'Daddy? Uncle Jack?' Leah's voice asked.

The Doctor's eyes connected with Jack's. 'Dun't ledda see meh,' he begged.

Jack nodded, moving to the door to slip out. He closed it behind him, meeting an anxious Leah staring up at him with wide eyes.

'What's going on?' she wanted to know.

'Dad just needs to get a bit of rest,' Jack replied.

'But he feels really bad,' Leah said quietly.

'Through the bond?'

'Yeah.'

'I won't lie, kid, he's got sicker, but Panacea's giving him treatment.'

'Can I help?'

He smiled. 'No, but I'll let you know.'

'But I wanna do something.'

'So do I, but Dad's gotta get through this himself,' Jack told her. 'He got himself into this and it's up to him to pull through. But you know what he's like, he'll be fine.'

* * *

As if purposely seeking to contradict Jack, over the following day, the Doctor went from being mildly drowsy and slurry to becoming _seriously _ill. From that slightly sleepy but fairly normal Time Lord, after his complete paralysis and spate of throwing up he seemed to crash faster than a light aircraft loaded with bricks.

Jack, Leah, and Theo watched and waited, repeatedly assured by Panacea that it would all pass. But he just seemed to get worse. Soon he was slipping between altered states of consciousness, with his hearts rate soaring from a steady, even, and healthy dual rhythm to beating out a constant triple-step tango. His arm swelled beyond belief, looking more like a balloon than a limb. Despite everyone's best efforts, he wouldn't eat or drink, and the one time Jack managed to get some food in him which wasn't from the book of Delia Smith, he threw it all up again.

Pretty soon he lost all awareness. Whenever Jack tried to talk to him, he drew a complete blank. The Time Lord didn't seem to be able to process anyone or anything around him, and after thirty-six hours, one of his hearts stopped. Even Panacea seemed to be baffled by it. Eventually, she called in the medical team who had managed to get his second heart going again, but not much else.

Day three, and his fever was nearly double his normal body temperature and his physiology was clearing working overtime to prevent his organs from becoming a Sunday roast inside his own body. All Jack could do was watch and wait and try to reassure the kids that dad was going to get through it, just like he always did. But it was becoming very clear that despite the Time Lord's exceptional resilience, it wasn't going to be an easy ride.

All they could do was watch, wait, and hope.

* * *

_'Help me.'_

At the sound of Rose's voice in his ear, the Doctor snapped his eyes open to meet a dark and empty room with his hearts hammering in a panicky, heightened rhythm. He quickly turned his head to the left, but Rose wasn't there.

In his scattered, hot, and busy brain, he clung onto the reasoning that it had just been the end of a horrible nightmare. A nightmare he - thankfully - couldn't seem to remember.

His eyes scanned where he was; a windowless and doorless room that was cold enough to make him shiver. It was dead silent, and Jack or the kids were nowhere to be seen. He checked himself - he was lying on the bed completely naked, with the exotronic vanished from his arm. He couldn't move.

_'Help me,' _Rose's voice whispered again into the darkness, this time very clearly.

He abruptly realised that it wasn't the _end _of a nightmare ... it was the beginning of one.

As soon as he realised, Rose appeared on his left, shimmering into a hazy existence. There she stood, covered in blood, with her hair long, unkempt, greasy and dirty half-covering her dead and soulless eyes. Her clothes were in rags, and in her hands she was holding some sort of device. What was that?

She moved forward a little into the light and he managed to discern what it was. It was an electric carving knife.

'No,' the Doctor gasped as he realised what she was going to do with that. 'Wake up,' he told himself. 'Wake up!'

'It's okay, Doctor,' she said, with her voice whirling in and out like he was being spun around repeatedly on a sadistic roundabout. 'I've got an idea, yeah? I'm gonna take all the pain away. You just gotta trust me.'

'Rose, please, no,' he begged, his voice sounding like something he was watching on television.

'You're just a bit sick, but you'll get better,' she said as she took his dead arm with her left hand, raising his wrist to her mouth and kissing it affectionately. 'I'll make it all better, Doctor,' she said softly, still smiling as she switched on the electric knife.

'No, Rose!' he cried out. 'You're not real, you're not real, you're …'

She tightened her grip on his hand and raised the carving knife to his wrist. It whirred and buzzed.

'Wake up!' the Doctor shouted to himself, but nothing happened. He couldn't get out. He couldn't fight. He couldn't move. Blind panic set in as she lowered the blade and cut clean through his wrist in one fell swoop like it was made of jelly.

He screamed as the pain hit him triple-fold, with a pool of blood immediately spurting out of the jagged stump of his wrist. Everything whirled and pulsed in his vision, with the sounds of his screams echoing back to him sounding distorted and distant, yet precise and near at the same time.

'WAKE UP!' he screamed to himself, but he couldn't. He could only watch as Rose held up his still twitching severed hand, showing it to him before she threw it aside and took his arm again.

'The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout …' Rose started to sing in a high-pitched, distant voice as she cut off another chunk of his arm as though casually darning a sock. 'Down came the rain and washed the spider out …'

'WAKE UP!' he screamed to himself again desperately as the pain soared to new, incredible heights and the blood on the sheets turned from a pool into a river, dripping down onto the floor.

'Out came the sun and dried up all the rain …' Rose continued, throwing away that chunk and immediately cutting off another so his arm was now a bloody stump at his elbow.

'Please,' he begged in a gasp.

'Now the itsy bitsy spider …' Another chunk came off in her hand.

'ROSE!'

'Went up the spout …' she dropped the chunk, and it landed on the floor with a plop. '... Again.'

_'Rose!'_

'The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout … Down came the rain and washed the spider out ...' she started again as she took the final stump of his left arm, and placed the carving knife right at the point of his shoulder. 'Out came the sun and dried up all the rain …'

He gave up, just lying there crying in pain as the final piece of his arm jigsaw was cut off and dumped by the bed.

'... Now the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.'

He cried profusely in pain and anguish, his watery vision just about registering the bloody stump that used to be his left arm. He immediately squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to get himself to wake up. But he couldn't.

'Oh, Doctor,' Rose's voice whispered from right next to his ear. 'Isn't that better?'

He forced his eyes open to look at her, now standing over him like an angel of death. He could barely see through the tears as his arm continued to throb and burn and scream in pain. He could barely think as she leant forward and kissed him, tongues and all. More pain erupted as her nails suddenly dug into his chest and carved out six precise and painful lines from his neck to his navel.

'Please,' he begged. 'Let me go … please …'

She giggled insanely. 'You're never gonna wake up, Doctor. You're stuck here. Forever.'

'Please!'

'How can I help you?' a new voice suddenly asked from the other side of the room. Rose suddenly looked very confused, looking up along with the Time Lord to see Panacea standing there, calm and collected as always.

'Get out of his nightmare, bitch!' Rose screamed, moving towards Panacea. 'I'm in charge, here!'

Panacea didn't move, just stood there rooted to the spot. 'How can I help you?' she asked again.

'I said get _out!'_

'How can I help you?'

Rose's eyes suddenly widened. 'No! No! Don't wake him up!'

'How can I help you?'

'No!' Rose howled, and disappeared on the spot as the Doctor's entire world jolted, and he opened his eyes again to find himself in his room in his living quarters. His entire body was still screaming with pain, but as he looked to his arm he saw it was still in one piece, and he was dressed in his biosuit.

For a moment, he just breathed, trying to clear the tears in his eyes as his panic reduced.

'I'm coming!' Rose suddenly shrieked like a banshee.

His eyes jumped around the room, his hearts immediately jumping back to what they were. He was _still _in a nightmare!? He couldn't see her, he couldn't ...

'How can I help you?' Panacea's voice sang.

'Doctor!' Rose screamed again.

'Your health is my priority.'

'I'm right here!'

'Shut up!' the Doctor screamed at the voices. Rose's image swirled into his vision as she seemed to move closer and closer like she was going to smother and suffocate him. He snapped his eyes shut, and immediately started sobbing in utter terror. 'Help me!'

Finally, he seemed to be able to move. He threw himself out of bed and ran through the door, tripping over his own unsynchronised feet in desperation to escape. He screamed in pain as he hit the floor and turned over, and saw Rose standing in the other doorway, her eyes streaked with black. On her right was a Dalek covered in blood, gazing at him soullessly through its eyestalk.

'Doctor,' Rose said.

'Get away!' he screamed, getting to his feet and moving to the food area. He scrambled for a weapon, eventually grabbing a knife and throwing his arm out to point the sharp end straight at her. 'I'm warning you! Back off!'

'What the hell are you doing!?' Rose gasped, suddenly looking terrified.

'Get out! Don't touch Leah or Theo!' he screamed, his entire head throbbing and filled with voices saying words that made no sense.

'Doctor, it's us!'

'I _know!' _he roared, tears streaming down his face as he thrust the knife forward a little more. 'I won't let you have them!'

'Quick, run!' Rose cried to the Dalek.

'Everyone stays _right here!' _the Doctor ordered, causing them all to freeze in place. 'Get in the corner!'

'Doctor, calm down, yeah!?' Rose cried, her hands in the air.

'I said GET IN THE CORNER!'

Rose and the Dalek moved slowly and cautiously to the near corner of the room.

'Doctor, calm the hell down, who do you think we are!?' Rose asked, reaching out her hand.

The Doctor took a defensive swipe at her. She immediately stepped back.

'DADDYYYY, PLEEEASE STOOOOP,' the Dalek said.

The Doctor suddenly paused and blinked. As the pulsating, terrifying world ebbed back into stark reality and all of the voices in his head fell into sudden silence, he realised what he was doing.

He had backed Jack and Leah into a corner, holding them at knifepoint.

'Doctor, drop the knife,' Jack said calmly, his arms stretched out again. Leah was almost in tears.

Shocked and appalled at what he was doing, the Doctor did. It hit the floor with a clatter. He sank to his knees and broke down in tears.

'I'm sorry,' he gasped. 'I'm sorry.'

'It's okay,' Jack assured him. 'It's okay. I promise it's okay.'

'Oh god, I'm so sorry …'

Jack stepped towards him, pulling the knife away and throwing it away a safe distance. Leah made to move forward.

'Leah, stay away,' Jack ordered.

Leah ignored her uncle and stepped forward to her daddy. She boldly wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

'It's okay, Daddy,' she said quietly. 'It's cos you're really sick.'

He just cried.

* * *

Leah had held him for ten minutes as he'd sobbed uncontrollably, until eventually he calmed down. Jack tried to get him to go back into his room to get some sleep, but he refused to. The utter terror he was feeling from the thought of going back into that room again was palpable.

Instead, Jack got him a cup of tea and the two of them sat at the dining table where the Doctor explained his nightmare to him in fully-fledged detail. All of the stress and panic and fear and anger had since dissipated, just leaving him feeling empty and numb inside.

'Sounds like the Lanwa's took advantage of the state you were in and managed to get right into your head,' Jack said.

'... Yeah,' the Doctor muttered.

'But you woke up.'

'Only because of Panacea,' the Doctor muttered, glancing briefly at the silent terminal across the room.

'You probably made her up,' Jack said. 'To protect yourself.'

The Doctor shrugged. 'I couldn't wake up, Jack,' he murmured, his eyes flickering to the immortal. 'I knew I was in a nightmare from the start ... but I couldn't wake up.'

'It was just a nightmare,' Jack stated, 'mixed up with a hallucinogenic fever. But you seem okay, now. Better than you've done for days. The Lanwa's can't hurt you. If it could, it would have then.'

The Doctor swallowed briefly. 'I think it can.'

'Why?'

The Doctor looked pointedly down at his chest. There, where the Lanwa's had scratched him down his chest, were a few light vertical rips that looked suspiciously like fingernail tracks. He wasn't marked, but the rips were definitely there.

Jack gazed at it for a moment. 'That doesn't prove anything,' he said quickly. 'You were probably thrashing around and it tore.'

The Doctor looked at him. Maybe he was right.

But he still wasn't going to risk sleeping to find out.


	8. Dawn of a New Millennia

**A/N: **Absolute bonus September points if you have any idea who Millennia is. Oh yes, I am the champion of the minor character :P

* * *

Chapter 8: Dawn of a New Millennia

After an hour of conversation Jack finally went to get a bit of sleep, leaving the Doctor in the main room with his good arm and right ankle tied to the chair with a slack of rope, just in case he started to hallucinate again. So stuck to the chair, the Doctor's mind had been whirring all night, considering the validity of what he'd experienced in his nightmare. He knew the Lanwa's had taken Rose over this way - when her nightmares had started to become real, and when she hadn't been able to escape. What had happened to Rose was now happening to him.

The Lanwa's was clearly trying very, _very _hard to overtake him. But as Jack had said, it had tried when he'd been at his most vulnerable, and it hadn't worked. That could only be a positive sign. But, he thought, if Panacea hadn't been there, he wasn't even sure if he'd have ever woken up again.

He also didn't know if he was just overreacting. Maybe it hadn't been the Lanwa's. Maybe it was his own nightmarish combination of a sky high fever, pain, and a dire set of circumstances for his subconscious to feed from and create the most horrific world possible inside his own head. It wouldn't be the first time his brain had sabotaged him, after all.

Either way, he wasn't willing to risk the Lanwa's trying again. He just wasn't sure he'd be able to escape a second time. So for three hours he stayed there sitting at the table staring out of the window until finally dawn arrived and the sound of gentle chiming to signify 9 o'clock lightly dusted the room with its harmonious tones.

He jerked out of his thoughts, and abruptly realised just how hungry he was. But as he'd consented to being tied to the chair, he was stuck.

'Good morning, Doctor,' Panacea suddenly said, blinking into existence on the other side of the table. 'I am glad to see you are feeling much better. The biosuit is detecting your body temperature had nearly returned to almost levels at 20 degrees. I have adjusted the thermal regulator in your biosuit accordingly. Are you experiencing any pain?'

'Just the usual constant agony but I'm getting used to it,' the Doctor assured her.

'I can administer medication if you are happy with this.'

'No, ta. I've spent long enough feeling numb.'

'Very well. It seems we have gotten through the worst of your side effects. If you are feeling well enough, I can book you in for your first familiarisation session later today.'

'As soon as possible, please,' the Doctor said.

'Of course.' There was a brief pause. 'I have booked you in for your first session at 3pm this afternoon, on floor 587, room 6.'

'Thanks.'

'Please call me if you need any help. Have a good morning,' she said, and disappeared.

He looked at his arm. It was still shielded in light blue semi-transparent plastic, obscuring what was beneath. He placed the dead arm on the table - it was throbbing a little bit, but nowhere near as painfully as it had been. Carefully, he peeled back the sheet and revealed what the surgeons had done.

His arm was still mostly there, just with large chunks cut out and holes drilled to fit the exotronic perfectly, stretching from his fingertips to his shoulder. It was a tiny bit swollen in places with some red patches, but he knew that was a good sign. It meant there was some sort of physical connection and flow going on between his arm and the rest of his body. Where it had previously been pale to the point of his skin nearly being translucent, it was now more fuller and colourful.

He tried moving his fingers experimentally, but they didn't react - it obviously hadn't been turned on yet as there were no lights. He was considering powering it up with the sonic to take it for a test drive when the far door opened and Leah walked in, rubbing her tired eyes.

'Leah,' he said immediately, slightly nervous after what had taken place the previous night.

'Hi,' she said tiredly, speeding up to meet him for a hug. That stunned him a little. He'd been expecting a far more reserved greeting. 'Are you feeling better?'

'Yeah,' he said. 'About last night. I'm so sorry.'

'Why are you sorry? The hot made you crazy, you couldn't help it, mmkay?' Leah told him informatively, looking up at him with those big blue Jackie Tyler-esque eyes with both of her arms locked around him.

'But I scared you and I'm really sorry.'

'Um, yeah, a bit, but I know it wasn't you. Anyway, you can't hurt me cos of the bond so why would I care?'

He smiled. 'Good point.'

'Anyway you feel a lot better now so I'm kinda sure you're not gonna try and kill me,' she said, still beaming a beautiful smile up at him. Her eyes drifted to his arm, and immediately she was intrigued and the subject of the previous night vanished into thin air. 'Oh! Does it work?'

'It's not turned on yet,' he replied.

'Oh. When are you turning it on?'

'Weeeell …' he began, considering. 'I could turn it on _now_.'

She pulled back, looking at him sternly. 'Are you allowed to?'

'Hey, it's _my_ arm,' he pointed out.

'You're not supposed to though.'

'Well … no.'

'Then don't do it!' she told him with a sigh, exasperated. 'You're so difficult. Imma go have a pee now so don't do anything stupid while I'm gone.'

'I'll try not to,' the Doctor assured her.

* * *

By the time Jack got up, he walked into the main room to find the Doctor, Theo, and Leah at the table conversing in gallifreyan. Theo was sitting on the table and Leah was opposite, both of them in pyjamas.

He had no idea what they were talking about, but he lingered in the doorway for a few seconds just to listen to the sound of the beautiful moribund language in full flow. After the past few days and what had happened the night before, it was just nice to see the Doctor communicating normally again.

He eventually discerned from the gestures and flow of conversation that it was to do with the Doctor's arm, which was now lying exposed on the table. It looked much, _much _better than it had, just slightly red. Theo was poking it and running his hand along the metal, clearly trying to make sense of it. The little boy, despite having only relearnt English a few days previously, seemed to now be at the gallifreyan level of his sister after just an hour of conversation.

Jack was finally noticed by Leah, who waved him over. 'Uncle Jack, how big _were _daddy's ears in his last body?'

'Like satellite dishes,' Jack told her and Theo, demonstrating with his hands on his ears. They both giggled.

'Hey!' the Doctor protested.

Jack grinned, and looked at the two kids. 'Why don't you guys go and get dressed, I need a chat with Dad.'

'Okay,' Leah said, and grabbed her brother's hand to pull him back to the bedrooms.

Jack and the Doctor briefly watched them go, before Jack moved to him. 'How you feeling?'

'Much better,' the Doctor answered, nodding. Jack rested a hand on his forehead.

'Still kinda hot for you,' Jack commented.

'Twenty degrees,' the Doctor informed him. 'I'm okay, mum.'

Jack grinned and looked more closely at his arm. 'Anymore hallucinations? Had blackouts?'

The Doctor shook his head. 'I've been awake all night.'

'All right,' Jack said, and finally untied him. 'Want some food?'

'I thought you'd never ask,' the Doctor said. Jack retrieved him a cup of tea and some toast, dropping them in front of him as he took the opposite seat.

'Thanks,' the Doctor said, cramming the toast in his mouth. 'Oh, how was the Celene, by the way?'

'Oh!' Jack realised, the woman in the aether suddenly coming back to him. 'So I rolled up, expected to see Gray, but no. There was a woman I didn't recognise at all. She asked to see you. Which is weird because they're not supposed to talk.'

'Oh? What did she look like?'

'Err, really pretty, young-ish, with blue hair and definitely humanoid, with …'

'Wait, blue hair?' the Doctor asked, his eyes widening.

'Yeah.'

'What was her name?' he asked urgently.

'Don't know. Something happened I couldn't see and she rushed off. Didn't get her name. Why? You know her?'

The Doctor paused. '... Sounds like … no, it can't be.'

'Who?'

'Someone I knew a _very _long time ago. But ... she's dead.'

'Well it _is _the Celene. She called you Theta, though. you got a sister we don't talk about?' Jack joked. 'Dunno why she was appearing to me, though, maybe it was a glitch.'

'That's quite a glitch.'

'I dunno then, something like interference. Panacea was monitoring you really heavily so maybe there was some crossed wires, there. Like the system got confused to who it was reading the memories of.'

'Maybe.'

'Either way, she kept asking to see you.'

The Doctor thought briefly, taking another bite of his toast. There was a long, dramatic, silent pause as he chewed contemplatively, clearly wrestling with some ethical challenge in his head. He finally swallowed. '... Okay. Let's go to the Celene.'

* * *

Not for the first time, Panacea seemed to know exactly where they were going when they stepped into the lift. The Doctor was still a little weak on his feet, but it was nothing holding onto the side rail couldn't cure.

_If it's who you think it is, seein' her won't help anythin'_. _It's just gonna hurt you. It's gonna bring it all back, Doctor._

He did agree with his subconscious, but he was far too curious to ignore this little mystery. If Panacea had managed to conjure up the image of the person he thought it was, then he'd know just how far the computer's roots were going inside everyone's heads. She was touching ancient memories behind centuries worth of barriers in his head. If he could just find out a little more, then finally he might start to find some answers to the millions of questions he had about this strange computer.

The lift arrived at the Celene. He followed Jack in unusual silence, ignoring everything bar the straight, strangely inviting long tunnel ahead of him. Just before entering, Jack stopped him, snapping the Time Lord out of his thought trail.

'You're scared,' he said, puzzled.

'Just a bit,' the Doctor admitted.

'Who the hell d'you think it is, exactly?

'Doesn't matter,' the Doctor replied, his eyes refocusing on the tunnel. 'Let's get this over with. C'mon.'

Jack obediently shut up as they moved forward. No words were exchanged until they were out the other end. There were a couple of people hovering at the aether talking to holograms, but it was strikingly empty.

'Just step up to the aether. I'll wait here,' Jack offered.

'Nah, it's okay,' the Doctor assured him.

'You sure?'

'Yep,' the Doctor said, and moved forward. He heard and felt Jack move to stand vaguely near him as they waited for something to happen.

After a few silent moments, something finally stirred. Light patterns began to coalesce together slowly and gently, like stirring dye together in a large pot. It was forming the shape of a person - definitely a humanoid female, with two legs, two arms, and one head.

As soon as the vague shape had turned into a hard-edged construction, details began to emerge. A small nose, big eyes, a slit for the mouth and the inside pattern of the ears all swerved into focus. Then distinct blue hair emerged, cascading over her shoulder and down her back. The eyes turned blue, and an expression grew from the blankness into a beautiful and distinct smile.

The Doctor knew her immediately. 'Millennia,' he croaked, stunned. It was exactly who he'd been expecting to see from Jack's description, but seeing her again after hundreds of years seemed to suck all of the air out of his lungs as his head exploded with a mish-mash of completely disorganised thoughts and feelings.

She said nothing, just standing there now fully formed and gazing at him with those bright, wide, and beautiful eyes. A million memories rushed through his head as he recalled everything that had happened to her in striking clarity, and his hearts immediately seized up with guilt and pain.

The image of Millennia stared at him sadly, seemingly reading his addled mind. She then opened her mouth, and spoke three very precise words:

'I forgive you.'

He froze.

'I forgive you,' she repeated softly, smiling reassuringly.

There was a very long pause as Doctor struggled to understand exactly what that meant coming from a hologram. He spontaneously felt some anger and frustration bubble up inside him at the fact Panacea had managed to get that far inside his head. 'No.'

'No?' Millennia's image repeated, confused.

'This isn't fair,' he suddenly snapped, looking up at the ceiling. 'You can't use her image and forgive me with her voice, Panacea.'

'It's not a trick,' Millennia's image said softly. 'I promise.'

'You're too far inside my head, Panacea!' he insisted, ignoring her.

'This isn't what you think,' Millennia's image told him, suddenly sounding a bit desperate. 'Please, Theta. Listen to me.'

The Doctor gazed fiercely at her for a moment, bordering on the edge of completely losing it. He then turned on his heel to leave.

'Nei'Veeto ...! Don't leave me!' Millennia's image cried.

That made him even more angry as he spun back. 'Stop reading my memories, Panacea!' he yelled at the image of Millennia. 'Millennia's dead!'

'Theta, calm down,' Millennia's image said quickly. 'Please. It's me. I promise it's me. Just breathe, and look. I swear it's me.'

'I don't know what you're trying to do, Panacea, but stop it, right now,' he ordered.

'Please listen to me, Nei'Veeto, for once in your life,' she said pleadingly.

'Don't call me that.'

'It's me. I promise, it's me. I'm here. This isn't a trick. I need your help.'

'How can I possibly help you? No, sorry,' he said, and turned away again.

'Please just let me explain,' the image of Millennia begged. 'That's all I ask. I'll tell you everything. If you're not convinced, you can leave. I won't stop you. I couldn't, anyway. I'm a hologram.'

His eyes fixed on Jack, whose facial expression was portraying an emotion somewhere on the spectrum between bewildered and intrigued. He looked back at Millennia as the memories rushed back again. The foolhardy trip of his youth, where he, Rallon, and Millennia had stolen a TARDIS and gone to the realm of the Celestial Toymaker, thinking they could beat him. The Celestial Toymaker overwhelming the three young gallifreyans, taking over Rallon's body and mind, and turning Millennia into one of his toys as a prisoner to be held for centuries. The contact the Doctor had received eventually in his fifth life, that had ended up with him having to destroy the Toymaker's realm entirely, and the captured Millennia along with it.

He'd murdered her, and he knew it.

_Listen to her. You've got nothin' to lose._

The Doctor sighed, and turned back again. 'Okay. I'm listening. You've got two minutes.'

She took a deep breath, and began, 'I'd spent so long being a prisoner I forgot who I was. I forgot how to think. I forgot Rallon. I forgot you. But when you came back that second time and destroyed the Celestial Toymaker's Realm ... I woke up. He lost his control over my mind as he died. Everything came back - you, Rallon, the Toymaker, and what had happened to me. I didn't know how long it'd been. I didn't know what I'd been doing in that time. But all I could hear was Rallon's possessed body screaming.

'I tried to help him, but I couldn't get there. Everything was falling apart. His whole body burnt up and disappeared right in front of me ... I tried to run but there was nowhere to go. I screamed for you, but I don't think you were there. I couldn't escape as I watched myself burn up - my entire body gone. Then I was just my own consciousness. I don't know how, but I got out of the realm before it collapsed. I got back into the real universe.'

'As a form of consciousness?'

'Yes. I was just … floating. I don't know how long for. I don't even know how I managed to exist as just a consciousness.'

The Doctor paused, thinking about that. Despite his instinct to resist everything she was saying, he had to admit there were a million reasons that could have happened. '... How did you get here to Pleaneas?'

'I don't know. I just did. I got here and managed to get inside a machine. I thought I could communicate and ask for help. I tried everything, but I just couldn't get through. I realised they were trying to program a medical computer for fast diagnosis. So I thought I'd stay and help them.'

'Wait … you created Panacea?' the Doctor asked.

'Yes. The scientists think it was them, but I was constantly rewriting their lines of code to be better.'

'This is why everything's so fast,' Jack realised. 'It's you.'

She nodded. 'I thought if I helped them develop their AI machine, I might be able to control her and ask someone for help.'

'But it didn't work out that way,' the Doctor supposed.

'No. Panacea is her own sort of consciousness, more than I thought possible. I've never been able to control her. But that was okay. I kept improving her so she could be the best medical diagnostic computer in the universe. We started getting more and more patients, and I kept improving her to meet the demand. Everything was going really well. Then I realised you were alive, Theta.'

'How?'

'I decoded an item on the universal communication network about you being imprisoned in New Shada. I knew it was you, though you'd changed your name. Couldn't mistake you.'

'You could've come to find me,' he pointed out.

'I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't leave Panacea,' Millennia replied. 'Everyone was relying on her. We were curing so many people and I just wanted to help. I thought I'd stay and just wait to see if you came here. I was so surprised when I saw you come through the scanner. The hard part was trying to get your attention. I worked very hard to get your friend here.'

'You got me here?' Jack wondered.

'I'm really sorry I manipulated you, Jack,' she apologised, and then gestured around the room. 'None of this is real, not _really_. The Celene is still in a prototype phase and no one is allowed down here.'

Jack frowned. 'But …' he began, looking to the other people in the room they seen when they came in. They weren't there anymore.

'Just holograms, to put you at your ease,' she said, seemingly reading his mind. 'To get you here I analysed your psychology from the database and thought the idea of the Celene would interest you. Panacea helped.'

'You really got me there,' Jack admitted.

'Yeah. I had a good guess on what you'd want to see. I'm truly sorry, I had to see Theta,' she apologised again. 'Please, Theta. I don't want to be in machines anymore. I want to breathe again. I want to feel. I want to get a physical form again. Please help me.'

The Doctor paused, staring at Millennia. He then took a breath, and then opened his mouth. 'So you'd want me to find you a body?'

'I've already got a body ready to be inhabited,' Millennia countered. 'I asked Panacea to grow it. It's not gallifreyan, just a basic humanoid sort of amalgam, but it'll be _more _than enough for me. It's in a laboratory on the lower floors. I need someone to physically get there and finish the transfer so I can move my consciousness into the body.'

'Sounds easy,' Jack mused.

She shook her head. 'Not as easy as you think. There's a catch.'

Jack sighed. 'There's _always _a catch.'

'It's in a very heavily-guarded area of Pleaneas - it's where the inner workings of Panacea are. They won't let anyone down there they don't recognise. Some spy from a rival corporation tried to get in there to sabotage her once, and they shot him dead. It was all hushed up.'

'Jesus,' Jack breathed.

'I can open doors for you but I can't give you any security clearance,' she said. 'It's going to be dangerous. To preserve her mechanical workings there's no oxygen either. There are security cameras everywhere, sentries, and traps.'

The Doctor gazed at her, chewing thoughtfully. 'Why haven't you just taken over someone's body up here? Just jumped into a patient? It'd be much easier.'

Millennia looked aghast. 'And kill their consciousness? What do you take me for?'

The Doctor smiled. 'I was hoping you'd say that. Okay. I'll help you.'

There was a long, emotional pause as her eyes welled up with an intense and complex combination of relief, joy, and fear. 'Thank you _so _much, Nei-Veeto.'

'I'll need all the information you can give me on maps, security, codes, and emergency procedures, as well as what you need me to do.'

She nodded hastily. 'Yeah. But not yet. You need to heal first.'

'I can do it,' the Doctor insisted.

'No. Please go through with rehabilitation to make sure you've got your arm to a functional level,' she insisted. 'I can't control Panacea but I've been asking her to watch over you more closely and correcting her errors. The rehabilitation should work. I've designed this program for you.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Okay.'

'But … please be sure about this,' she suddenly begged. 'I know this would be putting you in danger. The last thing I'd want is for you to be hurt because of me. If you feel it's too dangerous, then you can leave. I won't hold a grudge.'

The Doctor stepped forward to her, feeling Jack's eyes on him. He took a deep breath. 'Eight hundred years ago you willingly became a prisoner to let me escape, Millennia,' he stated. 'I've lived with that for a very long time. So now it's my turn to save you.'


	9. The Apricot Jam Conundrum

**A/N: **Ah god. I ain't even. I ain't even!

Please accept my humblest apologies and this longer-than-the-distance-from-the-Earth-to-the-Moon-in-word-count chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Apricot Jam Conundrum

'So, what's the deal with you and Millennia?' Jack asked ten minutes later as they sat in the waiting room, ready to be called in for the Doctor's first familiarisation session. Leah and Theo were running around somewhere nearby, and the waiting room was nearly empty.

'Mmm?' the Doctor asked in a tone that distinctly meant he didn't want to have a conversation about it.

Jack ignored the rather obvious hint. 'I couldn't work it out.'

'Work out what?'

'Y'know, whether she wanted to kiss you or not.'

The Doctor sighed. 'Look, I knew her a _very _long time ago. A time I did something extremely stupid.'

'Yeah?'

The Doctor glanced around for Leah and Theo, but they were out of hearing range. He leant in, conspiratorial. '... Back in the Academy, me, Rallon, and Millennia heard about the realm of the Celestial Toymaker - a sort of God and a Guardian of Time - and we fancied ourselves as being able to take him on. To cut a long story short, I was the only one who got home to Gallifrey.'

'Oh. What happened?'

'We were utterly beaten. The Celestial Toymaker used Rallon's body as a new host and took Millennia prisoner. I was put on trial and expelled from the academy, Rallon and Millennia were wiped from the Time Lord records.'

'Geez,' Jack muttered. 'But you went back?'

'I got called back. I ended up destroying the Toymaker's realm … and I thought Rallon and Millennia with it. I thought I'd killed her.'

'You think it might be her, then?' Jack wondered.

The Doctor paused, thinking about that. 'I don't know. She acts like her. Talks like her. Looks like her. She's got her memories.'

'And her story?'

'Improbable, but not impossible.'

'We know Rose was here. She could've set it all up.'

'I've never told Rose about Rallon or Millennia in that much detail,' the Doctor replied. 'There's no way the Lanwa's could know this much, much less recreate a pretty perfect version of her.'

'Anywhere it might have got the information? Maybe it talked to Brax?'

'Brax wouldn't know. Only people who'd vaguely know would be my old companions, but they never met Millennia either.'

Jack paused for a brief moment, thinking about that. '... Sounds to me like she's the real deal.'

The Doctor paused, chewing his lip as he mentally ran through the facts of what they'd discussed. 'Really does, doesn't it?'

Any further conversation was suddenly interrupted when the door of the therapy room suddenly opened to reveal a tall alien in a pristine silver uniform, holding a datapad. 'Doctor?' he asked, looking around at the few people in the waiting room.

The Doctor stood up, Jack yelling out for Leah and Theo as they all gathered to make their way into the room. The therapist gestured for the Doctor to take a seat on the examination table as Jack and the kids congregated next to him.

'Today is about the initial boot up of the exotronic,' the therapist told him. 'We'll try and master basic movements, and then get you back in the rejuvenation chamber to help heal the flesh on your arm.'

'Gotcha,' the Doctor replied as the therapist checked the exotronic, scanning it and prodding it.

'Looks like its taken very well to your arm,' he commented. 'Any discomfort?'

'Just a bit itchy at the moment,' the Doctor replied.

'Good,' the therapist said, and made a couple of notes on its datapad. 'Try to resist scratching it, as it can delay the healing process.' He examined a little more. 'Well, it's looking very good, you have above average healing rates. Ready to turn it on?'

'Yep.'

The therapist nodded. 'When I switch on the exotronic, there will be a small adjustment phase,' he said. 'It will take a few moments to attune to your sensory controls. Usually in this moment, the exotronic can move strangely and independently of you.'

'Got it,' the Doctor said, nodding. 'I'm ready.'

'Switching on the exotronic in three … two … one …'

The therapist pressed the button on the exotronic. The diodes on the device burst into light, flashing orange like a rebooted router struggling to find a connection. For a moment nothing happened, before the entire exotronic suddenly came to life with an almighty electronic screech and surge of power.

'Watch out!' the Doctor yelped as his arm flew up to the left of its own accord, narrowly missing smacking Jack in the face.

'Jesus Christ!' Jack yelped, only just about ducking in time. He took the kids with him to dive under a nearby desk for shelter as the Doctor's rogue fist clenched and the arm charged forward like Superman, dragging the Time Lord's helpless body behind it to slam straight into the opposing wall with tremendous force, leaving a significant fist-shaped dent in the metal.

The arm didn't stop - it continued to have a complete mind of its own as it rapidly spun the Doctor around in a circle and then charged forward to make him crash into a table of medical instruments. He was about to fall over, but the sheer power of the exotronic hauled him upright, rapidly spun him around again and started waving back and forth so erratically it nearly dislocated his shoulder. It abruptly stopped waving and promptly charged into another wall with the fingers extended, piercing into the metal several inches to embed itself.

It tried to pull itself away, but the exotronic had firmly got itself stuck, and was still trying to move despite this. The Doctor channeled every ounce of concentration he could to the device, desperately trying to gain control of his rogue limb. Eventually he managed to wrangle it, and the exotronic stopped moving.

'I think I've got it!' the Doctor panted while trying to extract his hand out of the wall, but it refused to budge.

'I've never seen such an extreme boot-up!' the therapist squeaked, emerging cautiously from behind a screen.

'Lucky me,' the Doctor supposed, and gestured to his arm. 'Any help?'

The therapist moved over and carefully pulled the arm out. The Doctor was concentrating very hard to keep it under control as the exotronic was freed, and the therapist took a nervous step back.

'Try not to focus on moving it,' the therapist advised him. 'Let it operate subconsciously.'

'You sure about that?' Jack asked, still hiding under the table with the kids.

The Doctor did what he was told and tried not to think about it. His arm spasmed a few times with a kind of contained wild energy, but eventually it seemed to relax and hang by his side as the exotronic adjusted to the signals of his somatic system.

'Can we come out yet?' Leah asked.

The Doctor cautiously moved back to sit on the examination table again, keeping his eyes transfixed on the exotronic. It stayed still. 'It's stopped.'

The three of them emerged from under the desk, but Jack kept the kids at a distance as the therapist moved forward and scanned the exotronic.

'All systems functioning, you should be able to start controlling it now,' he said. 'Try raising your arm.'

The Doctor did, and promptly his arm moved up.

'Clench your fist and unclench it,' the therapist ordered.

The Doctor did. It worked flawlessly.

'Wow,' Jack muttered. 'That's incredible. You're still paralysed but you're moving it.'

'What does it feel like?' Leah wondered.

'It's just moving like a normal arm except I can't feel it,' the Doctor told her.

'Raise your hand again for me,' the therapist said, jotting down some notes.

The Doctor did.

'Now bring down each digit in turn.'

The Doctor did as ordered, curling in each finger and his thumb individually until he had a fist again.

'Now wiggle your fingers.'

He wiggled them. The therapist looked very impressed. 'Try catching this ball,' the therapist said, and threw a small foam red ball to his hand.

The Doctor caught it without thinking about it, stunning himself slightly with the precision of the exotronic's movement and some slight sensation on the tips of the fingers. 'I feel that,' he said, staring at the ball held in his fingers.

'What?' Leah asked, wide-eyed.

'I can't feel the texture or the weight, but I know something's there.'

'Sensors on the exotronic tips should go directly to your brain,' the therapist said. 'You won't be able to feel the rest of it but the fingertips should register basic pressure.' He jotted down some more notes. 'I've never known a patient and an exotronic to work so well together so quickly. I don't usually do this for a few sessions, but …' He put a small pin on the table by the Doctor. 'Try picking that up.'

He did, absolutely perfectly.

'This is incredible,' the therapist said, smiling broadly. 'Usually getting to this stage should take weeks.' He brought out a couple of metal cups next, placing them on the table. 'Take hold of a cup.'

The Doctor reached forward to take the metal cup. It immediately crushed in his misjudged and highly powerful grip. 'Oh, sorry.'

'The exotronic's strength can be a little hard to fathom at first as you have no sense of texture, resistance, or weight,' the therapist said. 'Try again.'

The Doctor put down the destroyed cup, and tried the second one. This time he didn't crush it, holding it delicately.

'Good job,' the therapist commented.

'How powerful _is _it?' Jack wondered.

'56 garks lifting weight and 900 cdi,' the therapist replied.

'Wow,' Jack murmured, stunned.

'What's that mean?' Leah asked.

'It means he could lift an African Elephant and crush a diamond at the same time,' Jack translated.

'Wow!' Leah echoed, and then slowly frowned. '... Why would you do that?'

The Doctor grinned, putting down the cup and flexing his metal-coated fingers again as Theo broke free of his uncle and jogged to his dad.

'Careful,' Jack warned the boy. Theo ignored him, and reached up to his daddy with his hand outstretched. The Doctor considered him, and then cautiously reached out to place his fingertips on his son's tiny ones. They met in a gentle connection.

The exotronic pulsed lightly, and the Doctor blinked in surprise. 'My arm warmed.'

'The exotronic warms when you come into contact with organic matter,' the therapist told him. It's a sort of warning that you're touching something that can be hurt or potentially delicate so requires less grip strength. Once you're fully integrated then you will be able to turn that setting off.'

'I like it,' the Doctor confessed. 'Think I'll keep it as it is.'

The therapist then handed him a small device that looked a little bit like a mobile phone with added LED lights. 'This is your MCU - your Mobile Control Unit. It has all the settings menus, such as a simple reboot, a system cleaner, sensitivity adjustment, you can invert the Y axis movement if you prefer, emergency shutdown, and if you feel it's out of sync you can recalibrate it. There's also a menu for macroing, so you pre-program repetitive movements and execute them automatically, as well as a remote control.'

'Yeah, but can he change the colour of the lights?' Jack joked.

'That too,' the therapist confirmed. 'Also there are pre-programmed gestures for communication in six million non-verbal languages.'

'Jesus Christ,' Jack muttered.

'What are the limits?' the Doctor asked.

'The exotronic will fail in temperatures below 675 and above 786 gacions, and cannot be submerged in liquid for more than ten hours. Also any form of electrocution or other dangerous conditions. Nothing extreme will happen, it will just shut itself down until it senses a normal environment again. This prevents any permanent damage.'

The Doctor nodded, just before his arm suddenly beeped and dropped abruptly with the lights turning red, nearly causing him to fall off the table with the force. He couldn't move it.

'What happened?' Leah asked.

'Out of power,' the Doctor replied.

'Yes, it will need recharging,' the therapist said.

'How long does a charge last?' Jack wondered.

'It depends on how much it's used, but with moderate everyday movement that's not strenuous, it will last for up to two weeks,' the therapist said. 'It uses a sonic-charged battery but will plug into all of the most common plugs. You'll be provided with a wireless universal plug adaptor for that.'

'Okay,' the Doctor said.

'What happens next?' Jack asked.

'Next we'll get your flesh healed, and I'll schedule you in for regular rehabilitation sessions over the next few days so you can master its use. But at your speed, I don't think it'll take too long,' the therapist said.

'Long day?' the Doctor supposed.

'A few hours. Let me get the regenerator,' the therapist said, and left into an adjoining room.

The Doctor glanced at everyone else. 'You don't have to hang around for this bit. But thank you for coming.'

Jack nodded. 'We'll go have some fun. Kids?'

Leah nodded, but Theo rapidly waddled to his dad. 'I stay,' he said hugging the bigger gallifreyan's leg.

'You sure? It'll be boring,' the Doctor told him.

'I stay,' Theo repeated.

Jack shrugged. 'Fine, we'll see you guys later. Leah, you coming?'

She nodded, hurriedly hugging her dad's leg goodbye before taking Jack's hand and dragging him out the door.

'Bye!' Jack only just managed to get out before the door closed behind them. Leah let go of his hand. 'Right, if you're okay, I'll see you later, have fun and-'

Jack was suddenly interrupted by the little girl jumping in front of him and throwing up her hand in a halting gesture. 'No, Uncle Jack, you gotta come with me.'

'What? Why?' Jack asked, puzzled.

'I need your help.'

* * *

Leah had dragged him by the hand to the lift, and Panacea seemed to know where she wanted to go without Leah even saying. On exiting the lift, she led her uncle in the library, through the maze of people towards one of the reading pods where the door swooshed closed and she programmed on the computer to retrieve a specific book.

'What're we doing?' Jack asked as a large, dusty, thick book materialised into existence on the desk. 'I'm not a big reader, y'know.'

'D'you know where the Tuvala System is?' she asked, rifling through the book.

'The what?'

'Tuvala. T-U-V-A-L-A.'

'Sorry kid, never heard of it,' Jack apologised, shrugging.

Leah sighed, disappointed as she suddenly stopped looking through the book. 'Okay, don't worry. You can go,' she said, promptly curling up on the chair and hugging her knees.

Jack frowned. 'Why are you asking?'

She paused, clearly for a moment trying to make a decision. Whatever it was, it was quite clearly too hard for her not to tell him as she nodded, and sat up to continue going through the book. 'I did loads and loads of research and I found this.' She settled on a certain page, and then scanned down with a finger and eventually pointed at a particularly long paragraph. 'Read it.'

Jack regarded the massive paragraph filled with tiny alien writings that the TARDIS - still sitting in the dock 4.2 astronomical units away - was slightly too distant to fully translate for him. 'I can't read it. Tell me.'

'Um, it's a medical journal with a case study of Lanwa's disease where the host survived.'

Jack's eyes bolted open, his heart skipping a beat. 'You're kidding. What does it says happened?'

'He went somewhere called the Tuvala System to a shrine and it says he was healed.'

Jack stared at the book, then at her. 'Where in the Tuvala System?'

'I dunno, I've looked everywhere but this is all I found,' she said, and handed a photo over to him. On it was a face-on picture of an old, ancient-looking shrine in carved stone set in a lush green and bountiful landscape. It still looking grand and glorious despite its ravished state, with pieces falling off and moss growing up the sides. Written in the top corner in six-year-old Leah's curiously neat writing were the digits **70-0045:C**.

'Galactic co-ordinates?' Jack supposed.

'Yeah, but it's not long enough, there should be more,' Leah replied. 'I was hoping you'd know.'

'You said he was cured there? How?'

She nodded. 'I dunno how, I was thinking maybe it was something in the air or maybe something's there like a plant. All it says is he went there, then when he came back he was fine and that the Lanwa's had disappeared, and he said it was at that shrine.'

'So, it's a _definite _cure,' Jack surmised, and then heard what he'd just said and grinned widely. 'Who cares where it is, it's a cure! You've done it! You've saved her!'

He stooped down and swept the little girl up in a bone-crunching hug. She laughed, caught up in his excitement before he landed her back on two feet, and she promptly looked confused.

'Umm, but if we don't know where it is, how can I research it?' she pointed out.

'Research,' Jack repeated, grinning. 'If your dad could hear you. We'll find out where it is and go - that's simple.'

'How?'

'Who's the first person you ask when you want to know anything about everything?'

'Um, Daddy,' she supposed. 'But we can't.'

'Why not?'

'Cos he's busy getting better.'

Jack laughed. 'Leah, he'll want to know this. You've done the hard work for him. He'll know where the Tuvala System is - guaranteed. We go and swipe this cure; give it to your mum; done. Just gotta wait for him to get out of his session.'

Leah looked a little unsure for a moment, but eventually relented and nodded, beaming. 'Okay!'

* * *

Having spent his last few hours sitting still and being poked and prodded by medical staff and machines alike, the Doctor was relieved to finally return to their living quarters with Theo in tow. The operation was still taking its toll - his arm wasn't hurting so much anymore, but everything else felt like he'd just woken up the morning after going ten rounds with Mike Tyson.

Theo ran off to retrieve a game for them to play as he promptly collapsed into the nearest chair and waited, leaving him with his thoughts.

_You're an idiot._

'Thank you for your input,' the Doctor murmured to his increasingly annoying subconscious, which still insisted on using Rose's voice.

_You risked everythin' for that. I'd never have let you do this. Please admit it. You have no idea how to save me. You've got no idea where to start. So forget me, go on and live your life._

'I'm not doing it without you. That's not how it works,' he muttered. 'I'll find a way. So shut up.'

There was a pause.

It was _painfully _silent.

These past few years, he'd become far too used to the constant noise of people around him. He'd spent so long being on his own that to suddenly have that, had at first been bewildering, and now he realised couldn't live without it.

'I'm sorry,' he found himself suddenly saying. 'Please stay with me.'

_Apologisin' to yourself? _

She was laughing.

_I'm not actually Rose y'know, in case you're gettin' confused._

He smiled a little. 'Yes. Yes, I am.'

_So, are you gonna go to the Celene and see Millennia? You've been thinkin' about her all day._

'I don't know. Probably. Maybe. Eventually.'

His conversation with his subconscious was suddenly interrupted by Theo running back in, holding Leah's prized and deeply loved cuddly toy rabbit, Floppy, and - somewhat bizarrely - a jar of Waitrose Apricot Jam.

The Doctor frowned. 'Um, where did you get …?'

'We goin' play the F'oppy Dunk game! I jus' made it,' Theo interrupted him, clearly very happy and incredibly proud.

The Doctor's eyebrows lowered. 'Can't say I've heard of that one.'

'Um, easy,' the little boy said, and held up the rabbit by one arm. 'F'oppy.' He then held up the jam. 'Dunk.'

The Doctor swore he could almost see a thin veil of terror in poor Floppy's beady black eyes. 'Err, okay,' he said, getting up to rescue Floppy from the insane toddler he'd created and carefully placing her on the table, far, _far_ away from the apricot jam. 'Ooor … how about I Spy?'

The door suddenly whizzed open in a hurried shriek and Jack and Leah rushed in with a whirl of energy.

'Hey Doc, ever heard of the Tuvala System?' Jack asked, breathless.

'Err, it's an area of split space somewhere between Hynaxia and the Dagmar Cluster. Why are you …?'

'What's split space?' Leah asked keenly.

'Well, it's a region of space that's had so much damage done to it, that the entirety of space-time in that area has quite literally been shattered or destroyed.'

'By damage, you mean …'

'War and weapons, yeah,' the Doctor confirmed. 'Weapons so destructive that they blow a hole in the universe. There's quite a few areas of split space scattered around, I tend to just avoid them.'

'So never been to a place like that?' Jack asked.

The Doctor shook his head. 'Not much point. They're usually flooded with gravitational and time distortions, unreality pockets and psychosis-inducing icaron particles, and loads of other really unpleasant things - most of which we don't even know about. Not much can safely pass through it, and there's nothing to see there, either. Completely inhospitable and fairly inaccessible. Impossible to navigate safely. Everything's dead inside it, and everything that comes out of it is never the same again. Why, is it important?'

Everyone fell silent. Suddenly Leah erupted into tears, grabbed Floppy, and ran out of the room.

'Leah!?' the Doctor cried and made after her, but Jack grabbed his arm to stop him.

'What? Get off!' the Doctor complained, trying to pull away.

'She found the cure for Rose.'

That stopped the Doctor dead in his protests as he stared at Jack, stunned. 'Wait. What?'

'She researched her little heart out, Doc, and she found it. One case study in one book in billions. It's in the Tuvala System at this shrine.' He produced the photo of the shrine and handed it over. The Doctor looked at it, and then at him, stupefied.

'She's found the cure?' he managed.

'Definitely. It's there, Doc. Absolutely positive.'

The Doctor looked at the photo again, and then frowned. 'Wait. She's found the cure. Why is she crying?'

'Err, probably because you just told her that it's in a completely inaccessible and deadly no access kinda place?' Jack supposed.

'Oh.'

Jack let go of his arm, which dropped to his side limply. There was an excruciatingly long pause.

'What're you gonna tell her?' Jack asked.

The Doctor pursed his lips, puckering them before looking back at Jack with a decisive, electric glint in his eye that Jack had seen all too regularly before. 'That we're going to find this shrine and save her mum.'

* * *

Still clutching the picture of the shrine, the Doctor gently knocked on Leah's door.

'Leah?' he asked. There was no reply, asides from the sound of sobbing. 'Leah, can I come in?'

She didn't answer. He opened the door slowly, and found her sitting cross-legged on the bed hugging Floppy, crying.

'Leah,' he started.

'I'm ... s-sorry,' she sobbed out through her tears.

He considered her briefly, his hearts simultaneously breaking at the sight of her crying. 'What for?' he asked, moving forward to kneel in front of her.

'I w-wanted to … to g-get everything back to … to how it used t-t-o b-be b-but now I … I made it w-worse.'

'No, no, no, no,' the Doctor said quickly, moving in to take one of her little hands in his own, squeezing it reassuringly. 'You found the cure. There's nothing bad about that at all. This is amazing. This would've taken me weeks to find. You're incredible.'

'We c-can't get there though, c-can w-we?' she sobbed, tears pouring down her face and dripping off of her chin. 'You s-said we … that we can't g-go into … split … split space.'

'Leah, you really should know I have a long and very embarrassing 900 years history of saying things can't be done and then them happening three seconds later. I'll figure out a way. All it is is a couple of obstacles - time distortions won't be a problem that's for sure. Yes, there are lots of other things but I'll figure out a way to handle them. We've got the Tardis, and that's a brilliant start. Just you watch me. I promise I'll sort this. Okay?'

She just sniffed, clearly not convinced.

He took her face in both hands, forcing her to look at him. 'Trust me. Please. When have I ever let you down?'

Leah's slightly confused expression rapidly reminded the Time Lord of many previous atrocities he'd committed in this still fairly new father-daughter relationship that he was struggling to completely get to grips with.

'Okay, sorry, stupid question,' he admitted. 'I know I've not always kept my promises, and I know I've let you down before, and I'm so, so sorry.'

She sniffed. He persisted.

'Leah - I'm still as confused as the day you were born. I've had nearly seven years of being in a completely useless state, ambling around in the dark trying desperately to make you think I'm worthy enough to be your friend. Along the way I've done some very stupid things, I know. But this time it's a proper promise. I will find a way. I'll save Mum, bring her back to us, and everything will be just like it used to be. Us four together. Can you trust me?'

Still crying, she nodded. He pulled her into a hug, daring to use his new metal arm to hold her. His entire arm warmed at the touch, activated by the touch of contact with organic life.

'I love you,' he murmured with his eyes closed.

'I love you too, Daddy,' Leah replied.

Eventually he pulled back, kissing her forehead. 'Want dinner?'

She smiled, her eyes still a bit red and puffy. 'Yeah.'

'Okay, I'll get everyone ready and I'll meet you in the main room in five minutes,' the Doctor ordered. 'Then we'll find some food and I'll tell you all about the time me and Donna went to Las Vegas, where the bargaining chips were alive and ate one of the croupiers.'

She giggled while simultaneously shaking her head in disbelief, before jumping off the bed and running to the bathroom.

_Don't have clue how you're gonna get into split space, are you?_

He sighed. 'Nope,' he muttered, and left to find Jack and Theo.


	10. This Is Gallifrey

**A/N: **So I've written a lot of difficult stuff in my life, but absolutely nothing compares to how hard this was. Fingers crossed ...

* * *

Chapter 10: This Is Gallifrey

They went out for dinner, finding some quaint little restaurant at the edge of the eating district that was just slightly on the right side of busy. As they ate some hecasian delicacies, the Doctor intentionally inspired a fresh wave of positivity among the group about Rose.

Time distortions? Easy.

Gravitational distortions? Piece of cake.

Unreality pockets? Annoying, but no problem.

Psychosis-inducing icaron particles? Oh, simple, with a few tweaks to the TARDIS.

The rest? Take it as it comes. Sorted.

Despite the Doctor's continued insistence to everyone that getting into Tuvala would be a walk in the park, with every passing second, the acidic reality that it would be completely suicidal was seeping into every atom of his brain.

Time distortions? Slightly doable, but he'd have to rehash the TARDIS' basic temporal surfing capabilities through some intense and complex programming and reinforce her defences to pretty astonishing levels. That would require so much power that he'd quite literally have to find some way to condense the rift and take it with him. The only solution he could currently think of was rebuilding the extrapolator from scratch fifteen times over and linking them all together.

Gravitational distortions? Again, slightly doable, but the gravitic anomaliser would need completely stripping, cleaning, boosting, rewiring, and he'd have to invent some sort of secondary power device to be able to get the gravitic anomaliser to sustain an artificial gravity field around the TARDIS for what could be days and days. No such device existed.

Unreality pockets? He had no idea what they were even supposed to be. He'd only read some mad theories by people he'd assumed had been smoking something banned on 300 planets in some obscure cult magazines. Preparing for them and what they might do was just going to be a case of upping the defences even more and probably praying to some deity that he didn't hit too many.

Psychosis-inducing icaron particles? Basically, deadly. If they were normal icarons, they'd cause everyone to become paranoid and psychotic and probably kill each other, and if they were the other kind, the TARDIS would explode. He didn't know which ones they'd find. One, or both? Probably both. There was very little he could currently think of to solve that particular problem.

The rest? Not a clue. Trying to think of what they might be was a bit like reaching into a bag of raffle tickets, with each number assigned to random dreams and nightmares he'd had while he'd been sick with a particularly violent strain of North Plutonian Influenza and accused Donna of being an Oompa Loompa trying to steal his right shoe.

But he'd _promised _Leah. And he'd not only promised her, he'd promised Rose, too.

_'Rose. I know you're still in there, so listen. I'm going to save you. I'm going to wake up, and then find you, and save you from this. I promise I'm coming back to save you. Just hold on. I love you.'_

Yep, those had been his exact words. And right now, he couldn't see himself getting even a foot into Tuvala, nevermind finding this elusive and somewhat mythical shrine.

They finished dinner and went back to the living quarters. Leah and Alex went to bed, and Jack retired to his room to call Torchwood and do his own thing for the night, leaving the Doctor - once again - alone in the main area, fighting the urge to sleep and risk being attacked by the Lanwa's disease in his vulnerable state.

Silent hours, besides conversations with himself, ticked by as the light outside faded into black. Eventually, he got up, grabbed his coat, and went to the Celene.

* * *

Millennia had already formed by the time he got there, standing waiting patiently. She'd seen him coming. 'You should be resting,' she observed, smiling in that sweet way he still - after so long - recognised so well.

'My rest isn't very restful these days,' the Doctor replied, shrugging.

'So you decided to come and talk to me. Thanks.'

'Can't talk for too long to myself,' the Doctor answered, only half-joking. 'Thanks for this,' he said, holding up his metal arm. 'I'm impressed.

Millennia nodded. 'I was monitoring your brain function when you booted it up. Everything worked just how I'd designed it so I was pretty pleased with myself. Only thing was the medical staff here can't quite understand our biology but it didn't matter, it was all standard procedure in the end. You had me worried for a while, though, Nei'Veeto.'

He grinned. 'If you're looking for patient feedback, probably rein in on the psychotic part next time. And the sweats. And the hallucinations. And numbness. You know, all that.'

She laughed. 'Sorry. It was all so experimental. You were a bit of a test subject. But Panacea and I were watching you very closely.'

He nodded. 'I know.'

'So who are you with?' she wondered. 'Leah, Theo, and Jack?'

'Leah and Theo are mine. Jack's human. Met him in the Blitz on Earth. Honestly can't get rid of him anymore. Really did try,' he joked.

She looked confused. 'But he's not human. I've seen his biological profile.'

The Doctor winced. 'Err, long story. Basically, he's immortal because of the Tardis and Rose.'

'Oh, and who's she? I hear you talking about her.'

'Do you listen to all my conversations?' he wondered, smirking.

She smiled. 'Oh no, just the best bits. Not a lot, though, honestly. Who's Rose?'

'She's …' He paused. The words 'bonded partner' and 'wife', for some reason, weren't forthcoming. '… Someone I care deeply about.'

'Human?'

'Yep.'

'But she's not here. The way you talk about her, though - something happened to her?'

He nodded, biting his lip a little. 'Yeah. She has Lanwa's disease.'

'Oh. I'm so sorry.'

'I know where the cure is, it's just … _really _hard to get there.'

'Where is it?'

'Region of split space. Tuvala.'

'Oh,' she murmured, and thought about that. 'Are you going?'

'I don't have a choice. I have to try.'

She nodded. 'So why are you still here?'

He frowned. 'What?'

'The boy I grew up with wouldn't still be here. He'd be up and out to find that girl and save her. You can't use the therapy as an excuse, that's not you. So why are you still here?'

'Because of you,' he said honestly. 'I said I'd save you, and I will.'

'You're promising that to a lot of people, y'know,' Millennia pointed out.

'Yeah, I know,' he admitted, shrugging slightly. 'Force of habit.'

'You should go and find this cure. Leave me, I'll be fine. You can come back later. I'll still be here. She's on limited time.'

He shook his head. 'That's not fair. I said I'd help you. It was all my fault.'

'What?'

'I killed you,' he croaked. 'It was all me. The idea … getting a Tardis … going to his realm … everything.'

'Rallon and I chose to go with you. Don't talk like that.'

'I got Rallon possessed and condemned you to be a prisoner for hundreds of years,' the Doctor insisted. 'And then I had to kill you.'

'I asked you to kill me. In doing that, you saved me. Besides, when we set out we were all very young.'

'You were the youngest,' the Doctor murmured.

'I don't blame you, not one bit,' she said softly. 'There were three of us in that Tardis. We all made that choice.'

'None of us knew what we were getting into,' the Doctor said quietly. 'I led you both headfirst into it and then just ran away.'

'And that was the thrill,' she replied immediately. 'That's why we did it.'

'But I ...'

'Like I said, there were three people on that Tardis,' she reiterated. 'We could have pulled out. We didn't.'

'But … This is what I've done to you. I've turned you into a ghost. A ghost now begging to stop being a ghost.'

'I'm not a ghost - and it wasn't you, so stop thinking like that. How is everyone?' she asked, suddenly completely changing the subject.

'What?' the Doctor asked, wrongfooted.

'Everyone in the Deca. How's Koschei? See him a lot?'

The Doctor frowned, and then realised. Millennia had been so young when she'd been taken prisoner, that to her he and the Master were still best friends in her mind. 'Well … that's a bit complicated.'

'How so?'

'On account of the fact that for the last 700 or so years he's been trying to kill me.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'Are you joking?'

'Nope.'

'Wow,' she said, astounded. 'But you two were inseparable.'

'We still are, in a way,' the Doctor joked.

'What about Brax?'

The Doctor winced.

'What?' she asked, her eyes wide.

'He's … gone insane. A very powerful man got inside his head and he's mentally broken. I had to lock him up.'

She stared at him with wide eyes. 'Wow, would it kill you to give me some good news? What about Jelpax? Let me guess, sweet little Jelpax is now a mass murderer?' she said, laughing.

The Doctor gazed at her, his breath caught in his throat as Jelpax's rather horrific death clouded his thoughts.

'What?' she asked, her face falling. 'He isn't, is he?'

'No,' the Doctor croaked.

'Then what?' her eyes squinted at him, considering. 'Is he … dead?'

'... Yes.'

'How?'

'... I can't tell you.'

'I want to know.'

'It's not nice.'

'Tell me.'

He swallowed. '... He and the squad he was commanding were overrun by the native population of an outpost. They were hanged and hacked apart continuously through all their remaining regenerations. I found his body - or what was left of it.'

She stared at him, completely horrified. 'But he was … so … he was sweet. Why did he go into the Chancellery Guard?'

'He didn't. He joined the army.'

She looked so confused. 'But … Gallifrey doesn't have an army.'

He was struggling not to scream, cry or possibly do both at the same time for having to recount this _yet again._ 'No, not until the war.'

'So there was a war? And Jelpax joined the army?'

'We _all _did.'

'You did?' she asked, shocked.

'Yes. We _all _fought. We fought, and we fought, and we fought, and we kept on fighting until the day we … lost.'

'We lost?' she whispered, mortified.

'Everyone lost. Half the known universe was wiped out, Gallifrey with it. They're all dead, Millennia. Everyone besides my insane brother and a man who keeps trying to kill me. Everyone else we ever knew is dead.'

There was a poignant silence as she took that in.

'But … my parents,' she croaked, 'your parents. The Deca. My sister. The cousins …'

'I'm sorry.'

'Tell me you're lying.'

'I'm so sorry,' he replied solemnly.

She abruptly fell to her knees and began to cry profusely, grieving for all those she'd lost. Instinctively, he dropped to his knees too, staying perfectly on her eye level and wanting nothing more than to touch her - hug her. But he couldn't. She was just a hologram.

She sobbed for several minutes before she looked up at him through a parting in her blue hair, her eyes streaming. 'I … I thought once I f-found you I c-could go back home,' she sobbed, struggling to get the words out. 'I was … I was thinking to myself I could f-fix things with my sister and … and my cousins and I could g-go back to the Academy, and d-do everything I … everything I missed. I was s-so focused on mys-self I didn't th-think that the universe h-had … moved on without m-me. That … that maybe after 800 y-years that it wasn't … that it wasn't g-going to be the s-same. I'm so st-stupid.'

'You're not, you are _definitely _not,' he insisted, crawling a little closer to her. He was partially inside the aether, now. He couldn't feel any effect, so he shuffled a little bit further forward.

'And y-you,' she gasped, her tears increasing. 'I'm c-calling you Nei'Veeto, b-but you c-can't be h-him, can you? You gr-grew up, and I … and I just assumed y-you would be the s-same but you … you've been through all of this and … and I'm s-so sorry. I didn't … I didn't mean t-to hurt you.'

'You didn't,' the Doctor said. 'And of course I'm Nei'Veeto. I'll always be Nei'Veeto.'

She continued to sob. Without knowing he was doing it, he reached out with his right hand and to his complete surprise, he touched her shoulder. She was solid. 'I can touch you?'

Not answering, she linked her hands in his, weaving their fingers together as she closed her eyes, more tears spilling out as they caught in her eyelashes and crawled down her cheeks. He could feel her shaking, and he could also feel something deep inside him responding to the touch of her after so long.

'Please don't cry,' he said softly.

She looked up into his eyes, and time seemed to dilate out into some meaningless concept. For the first time in his life he had no idea how many seconds had passed as they knelt there, both of them transfixed on each other.

That feeling panged inside him again.

She moved her hands to cup his face. He tried to move as alarm bells rang in his head, but he couldn't. He stayed there, frozen, staring into her eyes.

She gave him ample time. She didn't force him to stay in any way whatsoever. But he couldn't move. Not a foot, nor a finger - not even a single hair seemed to be trembling. His brain screamed to back away, but his hearts were somehow making him stay completely still.

He found himself doing absolutely nothing to stop her as she slowly leaned forward, and kissed him.

It wasn't particularly passionate. It wasn't particularly romantic. It was a gallifreyan kissing a gallifreyan - two people born and raised in an emotionless culture, now stealing a small moment of love and affection in a universe that - for their individual reasons - had made them feel so incredibly lonely and sad.

It wasn't just a kiss, he realised. It was home - to the life he'd known so long ago. Roaming around the academy with the Deca at his side. When the Master was Koschei; when Rani was the coolest person he'd known; when, for the first time in his life, he'd felt part of something. Before the trip with Rallon and Millennia. Before he'd stolen the TARDIS and ran away. Before the Time War.

Before he killed them all.

Now with Brax in a state of sheer insanity and the Master in a complete world of his own, he and Millennia were the only ones left to remember Gallifrey as it really had been. Just them. And they'd found each other on a remote planet billions of light-years from where they'd started.

However, it wasn't even as simple as that, he realised. He could try and dismiss this kiss as just two lonely mixed up people who needed some affection, but that didn't explain what he was feeling for her. It had been there for a while, but now it was screaming inside him. The feeling he'd been denying all day.

With her gentle nature he'd always adored - kind, sweet, selfless, and perfect - Millennia was the same as she'd been so long ago. He still loved her as much as he'd done the day he'd met her.

Millennia pulled back, her nose inches from his own. She continued to hold his cheeks.

He didn't know what to do. Stay? Run?

He continued to stare into Millennia's eyes, his thoughts and subconscious racing at warp speed. Thoughts of Rose flittered at the edge of his mind. Further thoughts of his part in killing everything she ever knew jumped up too.

He couldn't do this.

'... I can't do this. Not now. Not with you. I'm sorry.'

'But … But it's only us l-left,' she croaked.

'I can't.'

Millennia let go of his face so he could leave freely. Finally, his limbs seemed to respond and he got up, backing away.

'I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry, Millennia,' he garbled out, struggling to find words. 'I'm so sorry.'

He turned, and ran before she could say anything.

* * *

He felt numb all over as he jogged back to the lift, keen to get off of this floor as quickly as possible. He reached the doors and hammered the button repeatedly, impatient.

_Calm down._

'Why couldn't I step back?' he asked his subconscious, frustrated.

_Cos you've loved her since you were a child and now it's a whole heap more complicated cos you just found out she feels the same way._

'I haven't even spoken to Millennia for 800 years. How can I still love her?'

_A childhood sweetheart is hard to get rid of._

'But you. I've got you.'

_Have you?'_

'What?'

_You've spent so long watchin' people die like dominoes that I'm now dead to you too._

'That's not true.'

_Isn't it?_

'You think I _wanted _an exotronic?' he said, looking directly at his metal-encased arm. 'I'm doing this for you. So I can save you. I'm going to save you. I need this so I can save you.'

_Split space is gonna kill you and you know it. It's impossible to save me. I'm dead. I died the day I left you and Theo to burn. If Millennia's a ghost, then I'm a ghost as well._

'That's not true,' he grated.

_Then tell me why you just let her kiss you. _

'A kiss is just a kiss, it doesn't mean anything - not for our species.'

_Sure._

'I've got _no _feelings for Millennia,' he stressed, angry with her, and angry with himself.

_Yeah, right. Just think about it, cos you're supposed to be a bloody genius, yeah? Everyone and everything Millennia ever knew has just gone in the blink of an eye. You just ripped it all away from her. You, on the other hand, you've lost me. Your best friend, your soulmate, and the mother of your children. You gave your hearts and soul to me. Nineteen years of your life. Yeah, it's a blip in the life of a Time Lord, but you wanted it to be forever. You and Millennia are two lonely mixed up people still with the souls of the kids you used to be, who never stopped lovin' each other for 800 years. And now you've found each other again._

He had no idea what to say to that. He couldn't admit to that being true, but it wasn't a lie either, no matter how much he tried to rage against it.

_So are you gonna stay here or run away?_

The lift arrived, and the doors opened. He looked briefly back at the entrance to the Celene where Millennia was lingering. Stay. He then looked back at the lift. Run.

He then decided to do what he'd been doing best since the age of eight.

He ran away.


	11. Night of a Thousand Problems

**A/N: S**uper bumper jumbo extended chapter!

* * *

Chapter 10: This Is Gallifrey

With his mind swirling in a haze of confusion, self-loathing and pure guilt from what had just happened, the Doctor arrived back at their quarters at 3am, closing the door just in time for Jack to come out of one of the side rooms, spot him, and rush forward.

'Doc, been looking for you everywhere,' Jack said breathlessly.

'Why?'

'Leah's woken up, think it was some kinda nightmare. She won't stop crying. She's pretty hysterical and she's woken up Theo, who's gone crazy. You talk to Leah and I'll sort out Theo.'

The Doctor nodded, immediately dispensing with his self-absorbed thoughts and running to Leah's room, where she was sitting on the bed in the fetal position, hugging Floppy the rabbit with tears streaming down her face. The feeling in his chest that was his daughter seized up a little. In his own haze of emotion in the past ten minutes he hadn't even felt her distress.

'Leah?' the Doctor said, moving to her.

'D-daddy,' she said, reaching up to him desperately while still clinging onto Floppy with all her might.

The Doctor sat on the bed beside her, reaching to hug her and kiss her forehead. 'Bad dream?'

She nodded against his chest.

'What happened?'

'M-mummy.'

'You dreamt of Mum?'

'Yeah.'

'What happened?'

'She was st-standing there st-staring at me l-looking … all ... all sad. Then she started t-to t-turn black like tar and she … and she melted and she was screaming at m-me and I couldn't m-move.'

Alarm bells immediately clanged in the Doctor's head. This, he thought, was how Lanwa's disease started. Got into your dreams, and slowly took over your head. Could have just been a nightmare, he supposed, but these days he couldn't take that for granted.

'Hold on, let me just check,' he said, reaching to her temple to check the state of her psyche. He carefully waded his way through the frightened little girl's mind, checking every area for anything abnormal. When his check was over, he moved his fingers away from her temple, brushing back her hair and wiping away a tear with his thumb. 'Did anything else happen? Like a voice or someone else there? Or did she say anything?'

'She said … she said sh-she was coming to g-get me.'

'Okay.'

'I d-don't wanna d-die,' Leah gasped, her voice breaking through her tears.

A shiver shot up his spine at her words. 'Why would you say that?'

'Cos that's h-how it st-starts, isn't it?' she asked, barely above a whisper. 'The d-disease gets into your n-nightmares and then it t-takes you over and it e-eats you up.'

He paused at her words. Gone were the days he could have just assured her it'd be okay. She was too old, too smart, and knew _far _too much for that. She'd worked it out - probably just as fast as he had.

'There's always a possibility,' he started, increasing his grip on her. 'But sometimes a nightmare is just a nightmare. Your psyche looks okay. Besides, it needs to infect me before it can infect you, and I'm extremely difficult to get into.'

'So I'm n-not gonna d-die?'

The Doctor pulled back to looked at her, cupping her chin and gazing into her big blue Tyler-esque eyes. 'Listen. There's absolutely nothing in this Universe or any other that's going to get through me to you. I won't let it. Got it?'

She nodded, but she was still crying. He kissed her again, and held her protectively.

'I wanna g-go home,' Leah choked out. 'I w-want the T-Tardis.'

'So do I,' the Doctor agreed, the cogs in his brain whirring as he considered his next move. 'Not long. Just something I need to do first, then we can go and get this cure.'

She nodded again and immediately the connection to her inside him perked up a little, with Leah far less upset. For quite a while they just sat there holding each other.

* * *

His mind churned as he left Leah to play, giving her expressed instructions to find him if she needed him. He walked back into the main area where Jack was making tea.

_'Finally _managed to get Theo to sleep,' Jack said. 'That kid's got a syndrome, and it's whatever you've got. Is Leah okay?'

The Doctor looked at him, his mind still racing. 'Yeah.'

'Was I right? Nightmare?'

'Yeah.'

'What about?'

'Rose.'

'And Leah's happy now?'

'Yeah.'

'So why are you looking at me like that?' he asked, frowning.

The Doctor didn't answer immediately as his whirling brain reluctantly made the logical conclusion he'd been completely dreading for days. He beckoned Jack and led him into his room, briefly checking for Leah or Theo lingering before shutting the door.

'This ain't filling me with confidence,' Jack muttered, glancing at the closed door.

The Doctor ignored him, dropping onto the bed and running his hand through his hair. He took a breath, and suddenly found himself shaking.

That alarmed Jack. 'Jesus, is Leah okay?' he asked quickly, poised to rush out of the door.

'No,' the Doctor moaned, his voice so distant and tortured it made Jack panic even more.

'Doctor!?' he asked, alarmed.

The Doctor's eyes disconnected from his. To Jack's complete shock, he looked like he was about to cry. 'Jack … she …'

He trailed off, struggling to speak.

Jack stooped to lean over him. 'Doc. Tell me what's happened,' he demanded.

'She's … infected.'

Jack stared at him, horrified. 'With Lanwa's disease?'

'Yeah ...'

'But… she can't be.'

'Leah just had a nightmare with the Lanwa in it, and when I checked her psyche there was something in there I didn't recognise. It's … it's inside her, Jack. Just a blip, like an egg its laid.'

'But you said it couldn't get to her without going through you … you said you had to be taken over first!'

'Then it's already happened.'

_'You're _infected!?'

'I was always infected … it's now activated,' he croaked, finding his words were increasingly hard to get out. 'It's gone from dormant to active in me without me knowing and now it's got Leah and it's probably going to try and get Theo.'

Jack swore, very loudly and precisely. 'Does Leah know she's infected?'

'No. I told her there was no sign of it in her. She believed me. And don't you _dare_ tell her otherwise.'

Jack swore for the second time. 'So how long!?'

'Three months … Maybe two. Maybe one …'

'Jesus, we need to move. We need to get to Tuvala right now!'

The Doctor finally looked at him. He felt strangely empty. Knowing full well that Tuvala was a suicide mission while also knowing if he didn't try his entire family were going to be subject to an even worse fate had suddenly made it all so easy. So simple. Ridiculously simple.

'We've got to get the Tardis ready. She needs to be turned into a battle Tardis. For that, we need Millennia - she's got a gift for temporal engineering. You and me can handle the mechanics but she'll need to tell us what to do and write the programs. I'll need Leah to research everything she can about split space, and Torchwood, with Martha, need to find some way of letting me, Leah, and Theo have dreamless sleeps. It won't stop it, but it'll delay it a bit.'

'I'll handle Torchwood,' Jack said. 'You work out how we're gonna save Millennia and I'll follow your cue. We gotta be outta here as fast as possible. You go talk to Millennia and I'll call Martha.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Be right back.'

* * *

Feeling a million miles from where he had been just twenty minutes previously, the Doctor went straight to the Celene, but found it was empty. Millennia wasn't waiting for him this time.

'Millennia,' he said, approaching the aether.

She didn't appear.

'Millennia, I'm sorry I ran out,' he tried again. 'Please can we talk?'

Nothing happened.

'_Please_, Millennia.'

Finally, after a long, lingering pause, she swelled into existence with a wash of digital information. She looked like she'd only just stopped crying.

'Thank you, please hear me out,' the Doctor said quickly before she could change her mind and disappear. 'I'm sorry for what happened. You caught me off guard. I panicked and I ran.'

'It was my fault ... I shouldn't have done it,' she said quietly.

'No, it's _my _fault. I didn't tell you everything, and that's not fair on you,' he said honestly, gazing into her eyes. 'I've got some secrets and before we do this, I need to tell you them.'

She shook her head, wiping at her eyes. 'Don't bother. I don't care. Secrets are secrets.'

'Yes, you will care,' he said shortly.

'Why would I care when we're the only two left?' she asked, confused. 'Whatever you've done I don't mind, honestly. It doesn't need to be said.'

'You need to hear it, because I don't know if you'll even want to come with me once I've told you what I did.'

She frowned, confused. 'But …'

'First … Rose. She's my wife. I'm bonded to her. The kids are hers,' the Doctor said.

'Oh,' Millennia muttered, clearly a little winded at that.

'Second … the Time War. I … Well, I fought, and I killed so many people, Millennia.'

'It was a war, Nei'Veeto,' she replied softly. 'You were a soldier.'

'But it's even worse than that,' the Doctor said quietly, shaking his head with his eyes disconnecting from hers.

'What?'

The Doctor hesitated, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Despite having psyched himself up to say it on the way to the Celene, suddenly when face-to-face with her innocent, beautiful gaze, the words wouldn't come out.

'It's okay,' she said softly.

He finally looked up at her, but his emotions were beginning to get the better of him as he felt himself start to shake ever so slightly.

'You were caught? Prisoner of War?' she prompted. 'Whatever they did to you, it's okay.'

'It's not that,' he murmured.

'Then what?'

'The war got so bad … it turned into complete hell. The Daleks were out of control. Gallifrey was out of control. The whole universe was about to be destroyed. It was … It was ended by one person activating the most deadly weapon from the Forbidden Archives. They detonated it, and the entirety of Gallifrey was wiped out, along with the Daleks. They're the reason we're the only ones left. They killed everyone.'

Millennia froze, staring at him in horror. 'One person destroyed Gallifrey?'

'... Yes.'

'And killed everyone?'

'Yes.'

For a moment, she said nothing. Then, her entire face fell into complete heartbreak and anguish. She knew immediately what he was inferring. 'Oh, Nei'Veeto, what did you do?' she croaked.

'I'm so sorry,' was all he managed.

'You … killed everyone.'

'I know. I don't expect your forgiveness. I haven't forgiven myself,' the Doctor said.

She didn't answer that. '... How did you survive?' she asked, an edge of harshness to her voice.

'I don't know. I thought I'd die. But I wasn't that lucky.'

'You wanted to die?'

'Yes. I pressed that button expecting to die. But I didn't. I'm still here. Don't think I was happy about it.'

'But you destroyed the Daleks.'

'Yes.'

'And you sacrificed _our people_ to kill them.'

'Yes.'

She thought about that for a very long time, wrapped in silence. She had stopped grieving, and now she looked almost enraged.

'Millennia,' he prompted. 'I will save you. I promise I'll get you back in a body first. Then it's up to you. I'll take you anywhere you want.'

'Where have I got to go?' she asked seriously, her eyebrows lowering as she spat out her next words, 'you've killed everyone and everything I ever knew.'

'I know,' he acknowledged, heavy hearted. 'I'll walk away if you want me to. Just tell me to go. I will.'

She swallowed, and looked directly into his eyes. The anger had spontaneously receded. She was now so heartbroken. '... But how could I ever let _you _walk away?'

He hesitated at her words. He didn't know what to say to that.

'Hundreds of years, and I can't hate you,' she mused. 'You killed everyone and I still can't hate you. Why can't I hate you?'

'Beats me, because I hate myself.'

Her face fell. Another long pause. '... Why are you telling me all this?'

'Because you needed to know,' the Doctor replied. 'Because you deserve it. Because I need your help and I'm not going to ask for it while I'm lying through my teeth.'

Yet more silence. More unspoken emotion.

'... What would you need me to do?' she eventually asked.

'You know I need to go into split space to get the cure for Lanwa's disease, and I don't have a clue how to start modifying the Tardis.'

'So you want me to help you program your Tardis,' she summarised.

'Yes. And I know it's ridiculous.'

She sighed, her face falling. 'You must know that nothing is gonna prepare you or your Tardis for split space. Not even me. Rose is dead.'

'I don't have a choice. Because if she's dead, then so am I.'

'What?'

'The disease has triggered in me. It's already spread to my daughter. She's got a few months, if that,' he confessed. 'It'll take my boy next and he's so young he won't last more than a few weeks.'

Millennia stiffened, shocked. 'You … you're all dying?'

'Yes. If I don't do something my entire family are going to be wiped out. If split space doesn't kill me, the disease will.'

'Oh, Nei'Veeto,' she moaned, her head dropping into her hand. He let her just think for a moment as she pinched the bridge of her nose, staring at the floor.

'This isn't any sort of deal,' the Doctor said quickly. 'Just because I get you into your body, you don't have to help me. You can walk away at any time.'

More silence.

She finally looked up, straight into his eyes. 'Okay,' she said eventually. 'I'll help you.'

The Doctor suddenly felt himself loosen up and relax, not even realising how tense he'd been. 'Thank you, Millennia. You've got no idea how much you …'

'What do you need from me?' she interrupted.

He rapidly refocused. 'First, I need to get you into your body. Give me everything you've got on maps of the restricted levels and access systems. I'll make a plan and we'll do this tomorrow night.'

She nodded. 'I'll get everything together and transmit it to you through the data terminal in your quarters.'

'Got it,' he replied.

Without any further word, she vanished.

* * *

He walked back to the lift and headed back to their quarters as his brain mulled over the gargantuan task ahead.

Step one: save Millennia. Step two: modify the TARDIS. Step three: save Rose.

It was a short list, but saving Millennia seemed to be the only thing that was vaguely doable. Sure, he'd have to force his way through multiple complex security systems, avoid the robots, hack a sophisticated mainframe and (somehow) guide Millennia's probably disorientated body back through all of the security to the exit before legging it through yet more security back to the TARDIS. But at least it was realistically possible. The other two weren't.

He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed when the lift suddenly slowed, and came to a halt.

_'Stopping at floor 512, maternity,' _Panacea said as the lift doors opened to reveal a familiar face.

'Jinu,' the Doctor realised, registering the pregnant jarginian he'd met several times before.

Jinu smiled. 'Hello, again!' She stepped inside the lift, and the doors closed before they started to move, continuing towards their living area. 'How are you?'

'Good, thanks,' the Doctor lied with dazzling confidence.

'Where have you been? Sort of late for your species, isn't it?'

'Just taking a walk,' he dismissed.

'What's on your arm?' Jinu asked, looking at the exotronic. He raised it to present the device to her.

'Exotronic,' he said. 'Mobility aid.'

'You can move it again,' Jinu realised, experimentally touching the sleek and shining metal. 'That's incredible. Wow! Panacea is amazing.'

'Yeah,' the Doctor agreed quietly, and looked at her gills. 'Still no spawn, yet?'

She winced. 'Just had a false alarm.'

He nodded. 'Sorry,' he said.

'Not your fault,' she joked, still smiling.

'That makes a change,' the Doctor mused under his breath.

'Oh, you'll never believe it, apparently someone won the Pleaneas games and gifted me free medical treatment for my stay,' Jinu said happily.

The Doctor smiled. 'That's lucky. Congratulations!'

'Thanks!' Jinu said appreciatively. 'I was _so _worried that I was going to have to leave before the spawn arrived. This place is amazing, but it's so expensive. Sort of odd how it just arrived though. Came through the door, Panacea sais it's from a "friend", and that was it.'

_'Your estimated journey time is a further 46 seconds,' _Panacea's disembodied voice said,.

'Well, the universe is very strange,' the Doctor commented, shrugging innocently.

Jinu nodded, before she suddenly winced a little, catching herself on the wall of the lift as she raised a hand to her chest.

'Okay?' the Doctor asked with concern, moving forward to take her hand and support her.

'Sorry, Panacea said I'd get some twinges in the next few hours but it doesn't mean anything,' she said through a couple of strained pants.

The Doctor frowned. 'Did you say you were on your own?'

'Yes.'

'Why don't you come and stay with us? Just until morning,' the Doctor suggested. 'We're all up anyway. Just in case.'

'Oh, that would be nice. Thank you,' she said, smiling appreciatively.

'That's okay. I'll just let my friend know,' the Doctor said, raising his infowatch and tapping to contact Jack. The device bleeped and the screen immediately turned black. The Doctor tapped it with his finger, but it didn't elicit a response.

'Not working,' he said, quickly pulling out the sonic and running it over the device. 'Nope, nothing.'

'Try mine,' Jinu offered, presenting her humanoid-like fin where her infowatch was strapped. He did, tapping and sonicking it briefly before shaking his head as the same black screen appeared. 'That's gone too.'

'Maybe the system's gone down?' Jinu wondered.

'Maybe,' the Doctor said, checking the screen in the lift. 'But if that was right, then these screens would go out too. We wouldn't even be moving.'

Right on cue, the lift suddenly abruptly jolted to a stop, sending both of them crashing into the floor with quite a thump as the small space plunged into darkness. The Doctor was up immediately, pulling out his torch and moving to Jinu.

'You okay?' he asked, checking the state of her spawn through the colour of her gills.

'Yes,' she gasped.

He shone his torch around the lift, checking every corner. He tested the doors, but they weren't moving.

'Lift's stuck,' he said, and moved to the panel. He reached out, the finger of his exotronic connecting with the button.

There was suddenly a very ominous shriek, akin to a piece of metal being forcibly bent in a press. Before the Doctor could conceive of what it could be, there was a bang, a flash, a shot of fire up his exotronic arm and almost simultaneously he was thrown bodily away from the panel. He smashed into the lift ceiling, and passed out.

* * *

The Doctor's vision swirled slowly into focus, where he could see the outline of a humanoid looking down at him, with the light pulsating and the image ebbing in and out. It took him some time until he realised he recognised the face - it was Rose, staring down at him.

'Rose,' he gasped, unable to move.

She then slowly reached forward, and extended her fingers to form a V shape. She glided her hand towards him, straight to his eyes.

'Rose,' he moaned as the sharp nails of her fingers slowly but steadily travelled to his eye sockets. 'Please …'

She just smiled, with the light still flashing on and off in a strobe effect. The fingers travelled ever closer, nearer …

She stabbed him in the eyes. He shrieked, still unable to move …

Suddenly the force disappeared and he was left with an extremely blurry view of the inside of the lift, with a smudged figure that could only be Jinu next to him.

'Oh kintakis,' you're alive!' she said, shocked. 'You're bleeding! Are you okay?'

His vision still wasn't straightening out as he reached up to his face, running his fingers over a slight dampness he could feel on his cheeks. Even through the haze, he could see the stain of blood as a result. He was bleeding from his eyes.

The disease has taken advantage of his unconscious state, he realised, and had progressed extremely fast. It was now going to start disabling him, piece by piece.

'I'm fine, don't worry about me,' he said, forcing himself to sit up and look at her. Her gills were now lit up in a very ferocious blue. She had gone into labour, he realised.

'I thought you were dead,' she sobbed.

'Not yet,' he assured her, using the rails to get to his feet. He shuffled towards her, his limbs feeling like mush. 'Is help on the way?'

She shook her head, crying.

'Any word from Panacea?'

'No …'

'You're in labour,' he said. 'Are you in the second phase yet?'

'Not yet ...'

The Doctor's mind rushed as he wiped at his eyes again. His vision was a little better, but they were still bleeding. 'Panacea?' he called out.

Nothing.

'She can't hear us!' Jinu wailed.

He looked at their surroundings. He didn't dare try the panel again, so he instead checked what other resources there were. Not much.

'It's okay,' the Doctor said quickly, stooping to her. 'Have you got your water pack to get a few breaths?'

She nodded, gesturing to her bag, which had ended up on the floor. At her invitation he opened it, and through narrowed, focused eyes he brought out the small white device shaped a little like a hip flask. He quickly found the accompanying attachment and twisted them together before handing it over. She gratefully inhaled the water vapours.

'Nice and slow,' he said. She took a few measured breaths as instructed.

'I'm sorry,' she gasped.

'It's okay. Don't worry, they'll have noticed us. They're working on it. We'll be out before you know it.'

'I can't spawn in here … Freja is going to suffocate if she's not born in water!'

'You're not in the second phase yet - plenty of time,' he assured her. 'Freja will be fine. We've just got a bit of time to kill, that's all. Ever played Twenty Questions?'

* * *

He led a conversation with her for the next twenty minutes, during which time he'd managed to calm her down. By the end, even he was wondering if anyone had actually noticed them. There had been no communication from Panacea, or even any sign of electrical life in any piece of technology. Numerous attempts to contact Jack had failed. But the immortal had to be wondering where he was by now, surely?

Jinu's labour had progressed to the second stage, and it was becoming increasingly clear that he needed to come up with a plan B. His knowledge of jarginian spawning was somewhat limited, but he knew the behaviours and birth cycles of fish. Her spawn needed to be born in water. He already knew exactly where to get the water - the tank that had been powering the lift. The good news was that there'd be a backup power system to get the lift moving again even if he drained it all, but the bad news was if he filled the lift with water he was going to drown. There was also going to be the problem that not having controlled water content that matched the environment she was currently in might shock Freja and kill her.

Soon events decided the outcome for him - another five minutes trickled by, and Jinu entered stage three. Freja was imminent.

'Okay, she's going to have to be spawned in here,' the Doctor announced, getting to his feet and pulling out the sonic.

'But she can't,' Jinu whined.

'She can - there's a water tank powering the lift, I can flood us and she can be spawned in here if I can adjust the water content levels,' he explained. 'I've just got to find the access point.'

'But you're not water breathing … Are you?' Jinu pointed out, terrified.

'Not as such,' he admitted, still scanning the lift for some sign of where the water tank could be accessed, but his vision was making that a little difficult. 'But don't worry, I've got an award for holding my breath. Can you see any sort of movable panel in the wall? Maybe with a lock on it?'

'Over there,' she breathed, pointing to his right. He looked over and saw exactly what he'd been searching for. He moved forward, sonicked the lock, and pulled it to reveal the opening to the water tank. He'd been vaguely hoping for a valve system so he could close it again to allow himself some breathing space at the top of the lift, but instead found an electronic system panel which he'd have to completely break. Once he did that, there'd be no going back.

Without hesitating, he sonicked the panel. Immediately the seal broke, and the water began to pour out quite rapidly.

'Okay, get into position,' the Doctor instructed, his converse already drenched. He knelt next to her, retrieved her water pack and handed it back. 'Remember, nice and even. I'll sort out everything else, just focus on Freja.'

'Okay,' Jinu moaned.

He darted back to the water tank, producing the sonic again and quickly adjusting to the appropriate setting before buzzing directly at the opening. He was somewhat bewildered that he had thought to program a rudimentary pH agitator to the sonic on a very long, lonely night.

For Freja to be spawned safely, he needed to make the quality, pH, and temperature levels as close as possible to the environment Freja was currently in inside her mother. He wouldn't be able to do much about the temperature, but the quality would already be pretty good already, and the pH he could at least vaguely get to the right area. He had to hope it would be enough.

He kept buzzing as the water kept filling, and Jinu kept crying out. The water crept up the sides of the lift, rapidly swallowing up Jinu's screams to underwater bubbles. He maintained his position, eventually having to grab the rail with his exotronic to push himself up. He caught his last breath of air before the lift was completely filled, and he propelled himself to turn back to Jinu.

She was waving at him, looking desperate. He shoved the sonic between his teeth and pushed himself forward, immediately registered the problem. Freja had arrived, but she was now floating near her mother, jerking around. He reached her, and took the little girl in his arms. Her breathing pattern wasn't very regular. She had to be in shock from the sudden temperature change, he determined.

He had nothing else he could do. He placed her carefully in-between his floating coat and chest, trying to give her the aid of his body temperature. Extremely slowly but very surely, he felt Freja stop jerking and start breathing normally again, with a better heart rate. A few more minutes, and he felt satisfied enough to open his coat to allow Freja to head back to her mother.

For a moment, she lingered, as if unwilling to leave him. Jinu move to her instead, smiling so widely as mother and daughter united.

The Doctor, now underwater for roughly fifteen minutes, was running out of breath. He couldn't use his respiratory bypass for fear of passing out - if he did, the Lanwa's disease could completely blind him this time. He had to hold onto his breath for as long as he possibly could.

When Jinu swam forward to hug him and thank him, she quickly realised the danger he was now in too. She tried to open the doors and pressed some keys on the panel, but it elicited absolutely nothing. She started panicking again, swimming around trying to find something to help him.

He couldn't hold onto his breath. He lost control and took in water, which immediately made him lurch and cough as he began to drown. He didn't have any choice now. He flipped on his respiratory bypass - salvaging just a little bit longer to try and get some way of staying alive.

There was truly nothing in his surroundings that could help. He resorted instead to swimming to the panel and checking it again. It was still dead.

More out of rising frustration than logic, he decided to raise his exotronic fist and slam it into the metal. The exceptional force - even dampened by water - broke the entire thing in two, but otherwise seemed to do nothing.

He propelled to the doors next and laid another punch to the crease where they met. They bulged a little, but remained resolute. He tried again, and again, and again. Pretty soon it became apparent that the doors were against something very, very solid, and they weren't going to move.

Out of ideas, he spun back to Jinu.

She looked so sad.

He hadn't any way of warning her about regeneration. Not that it was going to happen. If he regenerated, the Lanwa's disease would completely take him over. Using his body, it would infect Leah and Theo, steal his TARDIS, and spread across every lifeform it possibly could over the universe in the true age of extinction.

He refused to regenerate into that.

Jinu held him, comforting him, as they both simultaneously realised his fate. He was going to die within the next thirty seconds and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

Those thirty seconds ticked by mockingly slowly.

His respiratory bypass failed, and he took on more water. His lungs filled, and despite his mortality screaming and Time Lord biology desperately trying to save him, he drowned.


	12. Where Loyalties Lie

**A/N: **Thank you for sticking with me, and all the lovely comments - I know there's some pause in updates but making it my personal mission to speed up! :D

* * *

Chapter 12: Where Loyalties Lie

_On a tiny uninhabited planet in the galaxy Althaeia at the stroke of midnight, two seasoned time travellers were lying alone on an empty, warm, and sandy blue beach, staring up at the beautiful night sky as the waves ebbed on the shore._

_'You can't know every single one, that's impossible,' Rose Tyler was saying._

_'Try me,' the Doctor said._

_'Okay, what's in that bit?'_

_She held up her hand, holding her fingers slightly apart to indicate a certain area of the night sky._

_The Doctor peeked through her fingers. 'That's mainly the Stra cluster,' he informed her. 'Plus there's a nebula that smells like strawberries called Esrios just a few light years beyond.'_

_'Okay, that bit,' she said, moving her fingers to the left._

_'Kaopay, Kur, Forre, Zilseus, Paa, Sledsaa, Tox Nooph, and Opucciosh,' the Doctor replied. 'All stars in what's commonly known as the Eusebeia Cavalcade.'_

_'There,' she said, moving her fingers up._

_'Group of planets there - Gniea ZBP4, Nagorix, Semotania, Crao LY3X, and Vunzalara.'_

_'Okay __…__ what's the best thing about the last planet you said?'_

_'Vunzalara?'_

_'Yeah.'_

_'The pancakes,' the Doctor replied without hesitation._

_She smirked, lowering her fingers and shaking her head in disbelief. 'You're makin' it all up.'_

_The Doctor smiled. 'What do you take me for?'_

_'A liar?' Rose teased, laughing._

_'How dare you,' he replied with mock affront._

_'Okay __…__'__ she started again, and pointed once more. __'__Name those two. The little dim lights just above that purple one.__'_

_He paused, frowning. 'I don't think they have names.'_

_She giggled. 'Oh, just cos you don't know doesn't mean they don't have names.'_

_He half-smiled. 'Nope, I genuinely don't think they have any names. Probably uncharted.'_

_'Then let's name them,' Rose said, propping herself up on her elbows. 'The brighter one's gotta be known as "Rose", yeah?'_

_He laughed. 'Yeah.'_

_'So the other one's gotta be Doctor, yeah? So, Rose Doctor.'_

_'It's beginning to sound like a garden centre,' the Doctor pointed out._

_She laughed. 'Okay, Rose and Theta. How's that?'_

_He smiled. 'Yeah. I like that.'_

_They sank into a comfortable silence, content to gaze up together at the twinkling stars. Eventually Rose looked to him, her eyes lit up. _

_'What?' he asked._

_'Wanna swim?'_

_'Why not,' he decided._

_She jumped to her feet, offering her hands to pull him upright. He took them, bouncing to his feet with a flourish. She laughed and ran off without even removing her jumper to splash into the water until she was waist deep. He followed, reaching the water's edge and feeling the water up to his ankles._

_He felt compelled to stop, suddenly finding himself pausing to look at her standing there haloed by the moonlight, which was lighting up the astonishingly calm waters. She slowly reached up her hands invitingly, waiting to receive him into the water, and into the light._

_'Oh,' he muttered, realising. 'I get it.'_

* * *

After thirty minutes of a complete technical blackout, Panacea's systems finally came back online at 4am. Theo was asleep, Leah was eating some toast, and Jack was seriously starting to wonder where the Doctor was.

'Where the hell did your dad get to?' Jack wondered rhetorically, taking a seat at the table next to Leah. 'Seriously, keeping track of you three is a full time job. You okay, kid?'

She nodded, but said nothing.

'Wanna go back to bed?'

'No,' she replied immediately, tensing up a little. 'Please don't make me.'

'Couldn't make you even if I tried,' Jack joked, but she wasn't laughing. 'Leah, seriously, don't worry.'

Leah looked at him, her eyes filled with unfallen tears. 'But it was a nightmare.'

Jack paused, hoping Leah wouldn't be able to read him as he commenced lying directly to the six-year-old, as per the Doctor's instructions. 'Dad told me he checked you, and you're fine. It was just a nightmare, nothing else.'

She nodded silently. He gathered her up in a hug, holding onto her probably a little tighter than usual for a few moments. She looked up at him as they hugged. 'Uncle Jack?'

'Yeah?'

'You're not really gonna stop being immortal, are you?'

'I don't know,' Jack confessed.

'Please don't.'

'Why not?'

She shrugged. 'Cos you make me feel safe like Daddy makes me feel safe, and we always know you're gonna be here for us all no matter what.'

He smiled. 'Yeah, I will be.'

'So you won't change?'

'... No,' Jack decided out loud.

She smiled a watery smile, and they held each other for a little longer in the low light, until they finally let go of each other and Jack's thoughts turned back to the missing person.

'Better find out where your dad is,' he said, raising his infowatch to his mouth. 'Doctor?'

Nothing but static came back.

'Panacea?' he tried instead.

_'How can I help you?'_

'Know where the Doctor is?'

_'My systems are still rebooting, I cannot process locational data for him. You should check with reception to ascertain his location.'_

'Thanks. I'd better go,' he said to Leah, shutting off his infowatch. 'You gonna be okay here with Theo?'

She nodded. 'Yeah.'

'I'll be back in a bit.'

* * *

_'You comin' in or what?' Rose shouted from the light._

_The Doctor hesitated. _

_'Well?' she prompted, laughing._

_'This is it, isn't it?' he asked weakly._

_Her smile and her arms remained as they had been. 'Yeah,' she replied. 'But that's what you want, isn't it? I mean, that's why we're here.'_

_'But I don't want it,' he replied._

_'Then why are you here?'_

_'I can't __…__ I can__'__t let the disease take me over.__'_

_'Is not too late to change your mind. You know the metaphor. You made it up. Three options. Regenerate, hang on, or die.'_

_'There's no point in hanging on, there's no one to save me and it'll just hurt Leah through the bond. If I regenerate it'll take me over. At least if I die now it'll give Jack, Millennia, Leah and everyone a chance to stop this infection spreading.'_

_'Really?'_

_He frowned. 'What?'_

_'So if you regenerate it takes you, yeah?'_

_'Yeah.'_

_'Sure about that?'_

_'Well __…__ probably.__'_

_'Probably,' Rose repeated. 'It's all over on a "probably"?'_

_He hesitated again. '... But I can't regenerate and I can't hang on. There's nothing I can do.'_

_'So why aren't you walkin' to me?'_

_He swallowed. The next pause was extremely long. _

_'Theta,' she prompted._

_'... I can't do this,' he realised, and dropped to his knees in the water._

_'Why not?'_

_'... Because I'm too scared.'_

_'You're gonna die, why the hell would you be scared?' she wondered facetiously. 'So you can't regenerate, you can't hang on, and you can't die. That doesn't really leave much left, and we're runnin' out of time.'_

_He noted her words carefully. 'Not much left,' he repeated. _

_She gazed at him - still with that smile and her hands held out. 'I wonder how Lanwa's disease actually works? It's not like anyone's been able to study what exactly is goin' on when it spreads.'_

_He thought about that. 'Last time I was in this situation I talked to it. It was definitely the same consciousness I spoke to in my head as was in Rose's. It's not like speaking to seperate people, so it's not replicating or reproducing. It's one consciousness. One consciousness is both in me and Rose at the same time. So it's - quite literally - spreading itself like a network.'_

_'So what does that mean?' she asked._

_He thought some more, his brow furrowing. 'That means there's a connection between me and Rose that's been there since day one.'_

_'Meanin'?'_

_'We're both infected so we're both on the same network. We're linked. We're connected by the Lanwa spreading itself between us.'_

_'And so?'_

_'She's here,' he realised, pushing himself to his feet and looking around. 'Rose is here - she's always been here. I just need to find her.'_

_Finally, she dropped her hands. Everything clicked neatly into a logical conclusion for the Doctor as he watched her wade back through the sea with a sly smile on her face._

_'Rose?' he croaked._

_She beamed, and spontaneously burst into a sprint to meet him in a hug that nearly knocked him over. She kissed him, before pulling back to take his face in both hands , smiling broadly._

_'Hello,' she said, gazing into his eyes._

_'Hello,' the Doctor responded, on the verge of laughing._

_She suddenly laughed a very strange laugh, before drawing back her palm and viciously slapping him across the face. He reeled, shocked, before looking back up to see Rose had suddenly changed to the blond-haired Master._

_'Hello, my love,' the Master said snarkily, grinning._

_'Master?' the Doctor asked, shocked. _

_'Did you think I was really her? You're adorable. I wonder how far I could've taken that?'_

_'What!?'_

_'Oh, I love it when you're confused.'_

_'Wait, where am I?'_

_'Let's see if you can work it out. Go on.'_

_The Doctor's mind raced as he looked around the empty beach. 'I'm dead.'_

_The Master rolled his eyes. 'You're so dramatic.'_

_'But I drowned.'_

_The Master sighed. 'Think about it. Let's just say you aren't dead. What's the alternative?'_

_The Doctor thought about that, frowning deeply before his eyes suddenly shot open wide. 'Wait. If you're here __…__ No. No, no, no!__'_

_'Yep, he's got it,' the Master confirmed._

_'It's taken me over __…__ It can__'__t have.__'_

_'Sorry,' the Master replied, shrugging. 'You're in the infected zone. You and me for the rest of our life spans, stuck here together. All thanks to you. Thanks a lot for letting this disease infect us, Doctor. Well done. Stellar work.'_

_'You gave it to me and didn't even bother to tell me,' the Doctor pointed out, annoyed. 'If I knew I had disease this none of this would've ever happened in the first place.'_

_'Ooh, touchy. I'm not the one who didn't think to check for it. You know exactly what I did to you on the Valiant and you know the epidemiology of this disease. You should have checked and kept yourself contained. You didn't. You know why? Because you're too busy prancing around with humans and primitively making those dumb kids you call gallifreyans.'_

_The Doctor ignored the jibe, far too concentrated on the matter at hand. 'No. I can't be here. I've got to go back.'_

_'How, exactly?'_

_'I've got out of the Lanwa's trap before and I can do it again,' the Doctor insisted. 'There's a way out, and I'll need your help. Sorry, but we're going to have to work together.'_

* * *

After having spent twenty minutes trying to locate the Doctor, Jack finally found him in emergency care. The staff had explained the situation - Panacea had finally rebooted and emergency teleported people who had been trapped during the system failure, including the Doctor, who'd drowned and had to be revived on the floor of reception.

When Jack finally got to the emergency ward he found the Time Lord sitting up looking like a drowned rat. He was awake, although attached to plenty of machines with the heart rate monitor punctuating a steady dual rhythm.

'Doctor?' Jack said as he approached, a little surprised at just how perky he looked.

The Doctor looked up. 'Ah, Captain Jack,' he said, smiling.

'I just got told you drowned and had to be revived.'

'Yes, I did.'

'You're okay?'

'Absolutely wonderful.'

Jack frowned a little. His responses were a little strange. 'What happened?'

'That fish gave birth.'

'... You mean Jinu?'

'Oh yes, that's its name,' the Doctor replied nonchalantly.

Alarm bells were ringing in Jack's head, but he didn't show it. 'I met her in reception, she said you saved her baby's life.'

'But hasn't thought to come and see me and say thank you? I could have died permanently. That's some gratitude.'

'I'm pretty sure she and her baby are still being checked out to make sure they're okay.'

'Whatever,' the Doctor replied. 'So, I talked to Millennia.'

'What did she say?'

'She said she'd help. She's sending over all the details today.'

'So we're still on for tonight?'

'Yes. About time we got back to the time machine.'

Something wasn't right here, Jack realised. He'd never _ever _heard the Doctor refer to the TARDIS in that way before. Dread began to fill him as the only logical conclusion crept into his head. 'Leah won't go back to sleep, she's too scared,' he pressed, hoping for a good response.

'Oh. Well, she's not going to be infected. Not yet, anyway,' the Doctor replied with a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

_Shit, _Jack thought as he immediately knew exactly what had happened.

_'I need you to promise me something.'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'If I get infected, I want you to kill me.'_

Jack had to play this carefully.

* * *

_'C'mon,' the Doctor pressed. 'Any ideas?'_

_'Are you serious? There's nothing we can do,' the Master replied._

_The Doctor ignored that. 'This is a psi disease that's gained sentience. This has never, ever happened before, and we're having trouble fighting it because we don't actually know how it works. So let's try answering a few questions. Question one. We're clearly ourselves with our own minds and thoughts, somehow put together into one place __…__' He briefly looked around, gesturing at the beach. 'So where exactly are we?__'_

_'Does it even matter?'_

_'C'mon,' he urged. 'So we know for a fact that this disease operates on psi energy - meaning telepathy and dreamstates. We also know that it's only one consciousness, spreading across the infected people. We know as well that it accesses and uses the knowledge of the people it's hosting. For this, it has to make some kind of psychic network between the infected to connect itself up. Therefore, the conclusion is we must be in the place where the infected consciousnesses meet, so to speak. Like a storeroom. We're like little memory sticks for it to access. The main host is Rose, so logically, we're inside Rose's mindscape.'_

_'Can't believe I'm hearing this,' the Master said, sighing._

_'So question two,' the Doctor continued, ignoring him again. 'Where's Rose? If all of the fully infected are stored together, then she should be here too.'_

_'Well, that's easy,' the Master said, and pointed across the beach to something in the distance. 'Over there.'_

_The Doctor looked up, frantically scanning where the Master had pointed. There, in the murky distance, he picked up on the outline of something ... 'Rose!' he yelled, making to run._

_The Master held him back by the shoulder. 'I wouldn't if I were you.'_

_'Why not?'_

_'Because there's this pretty ugly demon version of you over there that looks ready to rip me to shreds. Won't let me get near her.'_

_'I need to see,' the Doctor said, and jogged across the beach until he was close enough to see. Just as the Master had described, there was a rather large and demonic-looking version of himself standing there like a rock, his arms folded with a hard stare, gazing straight at him and the Master, as if daring them to approach something he was guarding behind him. The Doctor couldn't see what it was guarding, but he instinctively knew that it was Rose Tyler._

_'It's Rose's Dream Guardian I created for her,' the Doctor realised. 'That means we're definitely in Rose's dream.'_

_'Dream Guardian?' the Master repeated. 'You gave her a Dream Guardian? Unbelievable. I knew you were stupid, but not quite this stupid. That's like playing with dark magic. No wonder she got infected; you wrecked her entire brittle human psyche.'_

_'It helped her.'_

_'Yes, looks like it,' the Master said facetiously. _

_'He's become completely corrupted, but he's still guarding her. That's good.'_

_'How exactly is that good?'_

_'Because that means she's safe.'_

_'For now,' the Master pointed out._

_'So question three,' the Doctor started again, spinning back around to the Master. 'Does the disease actually know this network exists?'_

_'It's never been sentient and never been able to spread like this, why would it?' the Master pointed out, as if the Doctor was a complete idiot. 'It probably barely knows that it's a disease. Probably thinks it's a living thing.'_

_'Then we've got somewhere to start fighting back from where it can't hear us,' the Doctor concluded. __'I just need to stave it off long enough to get the cure. Rose is the main host, if she's cured the network should fall apart and the disease goes back to being dormant in us.'_

_'You found a cure? Seriously?' the Master asked, genuinely interested. 'Where?'_

_'Doesn't matter where,' the Doctor dismissed. _

_'Oh, that means it's not good,' the Master concluded. 'This is all just theory, anyway. You have absolutely no idea what's going on.'_

_'No, but neither do you,' the Doctor shot back. 'I'm just trying to save your life, feel free to help at any point.'_

_'So remind me, how exactly are you getting out of here?'_

_The Doctor abruptly realised he really didn't know._

* * *

It wasn't so much a case of the Doctor being discharged, rather him just walking out after ten minutes and leaving the medical staff to shout after him.

Jack stayed closer to him than ever before, acutely aware of what he had to do next and desperately trying to think of what he could do to avoid it.

But he couldn't. He'd made a promise. And the Doctor had been right - of course he had - if the disease now ran him and got anywhere near the TARDIS, it was complete game over. Everything the Doctor had built for himself in the past few years with Rose was going to die - Leah and Theo included. Then potentially the entire universe could be wiped out.

He _had _to kill the Doctor. His best friend. The man he'd adored for a very, _very _long time. Everything they'd been through together - the Year That Never Was, the Shadow Proclamation, the Moirai - it was suddenly all so poignant. Everything had been leading to this moment.

The Doctor had trusted Jack to murder him. And Jack was loyal enough to do it.

'Let's chat in your room,' Jack said to the Lanwa-infected Doctor. 'Try and get a good plan going.'

'Okay,' the Lanwa said, and disappeared into the Doctor's room.

Jack waited until he was gone, and then moved to the food preparation area. He retrieved the sharpest knife he could find and slipped it in his inside pocket. Finally, feeling completely numb, he checked the kids weren't around, and followed.


	13. Infected

Chapter 13: Infected

Jack walked into the Doctor's room and closed the door behind him. He made absolutely sure it was sealed so there was no chance of a wayward child getting in. He didn't want Leah or Theo to witness what was going to happen next.

The knife he was going to use to kill the Doctor was in his coat pocket, bouncing against his chest with every step. Even through the fabric he could feel its coldness. It felt almost as cold as he did.

He felt nothing but sickness and numbness.

'So, we need to think of this plan,' the Lanwa said with the Doctor's voice, turning to him.

Desperate he'd somehow misread the situation, Jack gazed at him, seeking out any telltale signs that he was still the Doctor. But as he stared at the man in front of him, he realised rather abruptly that it was like looking at some unfinished canvas painting of the Doctor. He wasn't making any hint of an expression, and his eyes were so deadened they looked like they belonged on a corpse.

Jack's insides turned to ice. Not that he'd needed a confirmation at this point, but there it was. This wasn't the Doctor. Not anymore. The disease had him, and Jack had a promise to keep.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

He launched forward to slam the Lanwa against the wall by the shoulder, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the knife. He held it against the Lanwa's throat, hard enough to draw a small dash of blood. 'Get out of him.'

The Lanwa looked shocked. 'Jack, what are you doing?'

'Stop using his voice and stop pretending to be him. Get out.'

'Jack, you're crazy!'

'I said get out.'

'Jack, it's me, I promise!'

'No it isn't,' Jack replied abruptly. 'I know exactly what you are, and I told you to get out.'

It paused, and then relented with the biggest smile on the Doctor's possessed face, 'aww, and I thought I was playing him so well.'

'I know you want him alive, so get out or I'll kill him right now.'

'You wouldn't,' the Lanwa said, tilting its head as it lowered the Doctor's eyebrows. 'You couldn't. You're too loyal. In his memories, you're his most trusted friend.'

'I promised I would kill him if you infected him. Yeah, I'm loyal, and I'm loyal enough to keep that promise to him. So I'm giving you an option. Get out, or I'll slit his throat. If you make him regenerate I'll keep killing him again and again.'

The Lanwa paused, considering that. 'You really _would _kill him because he asked you to, wouldn't you?'

'Yes. Last chance,' Jack responded shortly.

The Lanwa sighed. 'But I'm already in most of the family, Jack. It's not long until I take them over. I wonder, could you kill his daughter like you're ready to kill him? Would you really slit the throat of Leah? Can you just imagine her little face? Her little voice? "Please, Uncle Jack! I don't want to die! Please don't kill me!" ...'

'I said get out,' Jack grated, ignoring it.

The Lanwa smiled a truly awful smile Jack had never seen on the Doctor's face before, and had no desire to see again. 'I guess that answers that one,' it purred.

'I'll do whatever it takes to save him and his family. So I'll kill you. Don't think I won't. And I'll warn you. We know where the cure is and we're getting there whether the Doctor's here or not. I know you want him alive. Your choice.'

The Lanwa rolled the Doctor's eyes. 'You can't win, ex-Time Agent. I've had access to his mind. I know the supposed cure is in the Tuvala system, and …' It suddenly paused, the Doctor's eyes going skywards as it consulted the Doctor's memories. It found something it clearly loved, and smiled that horrific smile again as it pierced Jack with its cold gaze again. 'Oh dear, he's not told you that bit, has he?'

Jack kept trying to ignore it. 'I said _get out.'_

'Tuvala is a suicide mission, Jack,' the Lanwa said happily, 'the Doctor knows full well you're all going to die trying to get there. Oh, what a shame. He made it all sound so easy, didn't he? But it's not like he has much choice now, I suppose.'

'I'm not gonna say it again!' Jack snapped.

It sighed. 'Fine, I'll go. But you let him know that I'm still inside him and his daughter. I'm going to infect every single last atom inside his and her body. I'll make them blind, dumb, deaf, and numb, until there is nothing left for you to save and they're begging for relief. I'll have them both, and Theo, too. Then one day ... you. I'll be seeing you soon, Jack Harkness. Tick tock goes that clock …'

The Doctor's eyes rolled back, and his body sagged. Jack caught him, managing to stop him slamming into the floor.

'Doctor?' Jack asked urgently, dispensing with the knife to shake him.

* * *

_'Doctor?'_

_'Jack!' the Doctor realised, looking around._

_'What?' the Master asked._

_'I just heard Jack,' the Doctor replied quickly._

_'I didn't, thankfully. Doesn't his voice annoy you?'_

_The Doctor's vision suddenly flashed to black, before the Master's face returned. 'Jack!' he called. 'I'm stuck!'_

* * *

'Jack,' the Doctor moaned, his eyes still closed. 'I'm stuck.'

'Come back to me,' Jack urged.

* * *

_'I'm going back,' the Doctor said quickly as his vision pulsed again. 'Master, you've got to make sure Rose stays protected. If she goes, that's it for all of us.'_

_The Master sighed, but the Doctor didn't catch a response._

* * *

The Doctor's eyes snapped open. He found himself being held against the wall of his room by Jack, keeping him upright. There was the familiarly overpoweful smell of sandalwood in the air, nearly making him retch.

'What …' the Doctor gasped.

'Sit down …'

Jack guided the wonky Time Lord to sit on the bed, still supporting him.

'I was …' the Doctor breathed, looking vacantly around the room. 'Where am I?'

'You're in our quarters on Pleaneas, you're okay,' Jack said. 'Look at me. Refocus.'

The Doctor blinked a few times. Things were blurred. 'Jack, I was just … it was …'

'What?' Jack asked.

'I went somewhere … it was dark ...'

'Probably a nightmare while it had control of you,' Jack concluded hastily. 'It's over, it's okay.'

'No, it was … I can't remember,' the Doctor murmured, and promptly fainted.

* * *

'Have you got anything for me, yet?' Jack asked down the phone to Martha while simultaneously pacing the Doctor's room.

_'You've got to give Unit some time, Jack. Trying to make a drug that skips the REM phase of sleep has never been made for a human, never mind aliens,' _Martha replied.

'Speed it the hell up,' Jack urged. 'If they need more money just give it to them - I don't care. Anything we've got on our alien drug research profiles, just hand it over. We need this, _now.'_

_'Jack, calm down. What's happened?'_

Jack briefly checked the door for any signs of Leah or Theo, and then the Doctor, who was still unconscious. 'I'm on a sinking ship here, Martha.'

_'What?'_

'It's spreading in Leah and the Doctor thinks Theo's gonna get it too. It just took over the Doctor and I had to force it out. Every single dream they have it's eating into them. I think the Doctor's safe for a bit, but it's trying Leah with everything it's got. She _has _to stop dreaming.'

Martha swore. _'Oh god. I'm trying everything, Jack, I promise. You lot have got to get back here - we can make all the drugs we like but we've got no way of testing them.'_

'We're nearly home. You keep working on your end.'

_'We will,' _Martha said. _'What should I tell the others?'_

Jack glanced at the Doctor. 'Nothing,' he said. 'Leah doesn't even know and the Doctor doesn't want her to. Leave it to him.'

_'Okay,' _she said. _'Call me if you need anything.'_

He hung up, and for a very long while, just stared at the Doctor. The Time Lord had been unconscious on the bed for twenty minutes, now.

_'Jack, I have detected the Doctor is asleep at an unusual time of day for his established sleep phase cycle,' _Panacea's voice suddenly came on the speakers as the screen by the bed lit up. _'Do you require any medical assistance?'_

'Yeah … Can you just check him very quickly?'

_'Certainly,'_ Panacea replied. A small electronic beep sounded. _'I detect his biorhythms are_ _regular.'_

'Can you see if he's dreaming?'

_'He appears to be in a permanent delta wave, suggesting he is not dreaming but in a deep sleep. However, this may be a cause for concern. Would you like me to send an analysis team?'_

'No,' Jack said quickly. 'Just … watch him. Let me know if anything changes.'

_'Very well,' _she said, and the screen turned black to indicate she was gone.

Jack obligingly stripped his best friend down to undershirt and boxers, and rolled him into bed and made sure he was comfortable. He also pulled the sheets up just enough to hide the slight cut he'd inflicted on the Doctor's neck, hoping and praying Time Lord healing rates would make it unnoticeable very quickly.

He then pocketed both the knife and the phone, making sure both were well-hidden before opening the door of the room. He immediately registered Leah standing in the living space besides Jinu, who was holding her baby.

'Oh, hello,' Jack greeted charismatically, switching on the charm.

'Hello,' Jinu said, and looked past him into the Doctor's room. 'Is the Doctor here?'

'Over exhausted himself, he just collapsed on me,' Jack replied as nonchalantly as he could.

'Oh, I hope he's okay?'

'Yeah, fine, just needs a bit of sleep, I think,' Jack said. 'Don't worry, he's kinda making a habit of dying recently. He'll be fine. Panacea cleared him.'

Jinu looked puzzled, but laughed anyway, clearly trying to be polite. 'I'm heading home in an hour, and before I left I just wanted to thank him for saving my baby,' she said. 'Freja would be dead if it wasn't for him.'

'I'll pass on the message,' Jack said, nodding. 'He'll be thrilled you're both okay.'

'I need to do something for him,' Jinu insisted. 'Is there anything I can do?'

'Don't worry, he won't want anything,' Jack assured her. 'He'd just want me to tell you to go and have a fantastic life.'

'But I must do something,' Jinu pressed. 'He did so much to save Freja.'

'Honestly, he won't want anything, you don't need to give it another thought. Just be happy.'

Jinu gave up. 'Okay. Please tell him if he's ever on Jargini he's really welcome to visit us. We're in subsector 7. We've got the big purple clam shell right outside, you can't miss us.'

Jack winked. 'No problem, I'll let him know.'

'I'd better catch my flight,' she said, glancing at the clock. 'You all look after him, won't you?'

'Oh, it's my job to,' Jack assured her. 'Don't miss your flight. Take care.'

She left, and Leah immediately rounded on him.

'Why's he asleep? He wasn't earlier. I wanna talk to him,' she complained.

'He's just tired,' Jack dismissed. 'Give him a few hours. What did you want to talk to him about?'

'The terminal went mad earlier and printed out all this stuff,' she explained, leaning over to retrieve a stack of plastic sheets. Jack took a few from the top, and checked them. They were inked with a myriad of algorithms and maps. 'What are they?'

'Schematics of the lower levels of Pleneas,' Jack realised.

'Umm … why have we got those? And what's Millennia?'

Jack paused, frowning. 'Where'd you see that?' he asked, looking at her.

'It was flashing on the screen when they all printed out. Is it some kinda program?'

Jack considered her inquisitive little face. There was nowhere left to hide. 'I think I need to explain. Get me a coffee.'

* * *

What felt like ten seconds after he'd passed out, the Doctor woke up.

Following a brief moment of confusion about where he was and what had happened, he realised he was in his bed in their quarters on Pleaneas. It seemed quiet. He tried to push himself to sit upright, but found he was too physically weak to do it. Instead, he called out Jack's name to get a bit of help.

Three seconds later the door opened, the light from the main room stunning the Doctor momentarily as Jack entered and saw him.

'Hey,' Jack greeted, closing the door behind him as the light automatically turned on. 'How are you feeling?'

'Like I've been here before,' the Doctor murmured. 'What happened?'

Despite his slight haziness, he _did _register Jack's hand seemingly hovering over his coat, as though ready to pull something out. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

'What's the last thing you remember?' Jack wondered.

'I … I think I drowned. Did I drown?'

'Yeah. Anything else?'

His tone was a little terse, the Doctor noticed. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine. Answer the question.'

'Jack, you're clearly not fine. What's wrong?'

Without a beat, Jack suddenly moved forward, pulled a knife out of his coat, grabbed the Doctor's chin and held the blade close to his neck. 'I swear to god if it's you again I'll kill you.'

'Jack … what are you doing!?' the Doctor managed to get out.

'Be quiet or Leah will hear you,' Jack grated.

The Doctor - despite his panic, confusion, and serious need for help - had absolutely no desire to draw Leah's attention to this. 'Jack, what are you doing?' he repeated in a whisper.

'I warned you I'd kill him if you came back,' Jack spat.

'Jack, it's me. I promise it's me, whatever you think I am, I'm not … Oh,' he realised.

'Oh?' Jack echoed.

'It took me over, didn't it?'

Jack didn't lower the knife. 'Yeah, it did, and sorry, I really need to make sure it's not pretending to be you again. So answer the question. What's the last thing you remember?'

The Doctor tried desperately to recall it. 'I was … I was in a lift and … Jinu!' he realised, wide-eyed. 'Jack, you need to tell Panacea she's stuck in a lift with … Wait.' He stopped himself, very confused as he forced his hands up to check his face. Same face. 'I'm still alive. How am I alive?'

'Jinu's fine. Panacea's power got restored a few minutes after you drowned apparently and everyone who got stuck was emergency teleported out. You were revived on the floor of reception.'

'Oh, can't remember that,' the Doctor said, struggling to process it through his addled head. 'Is Freja okay?'

'Yeah. They were checked out and discharged. Jinu dropped in to say thanks. She had to catch her flight though, so she couldn't stay. Said to drop by if you were ever in the area.'

'Ah, good,' the Doctor said, satisfied. 'Have we found out what caused Panacea's system to fail?'

'They're saying a really bad solar flare.'

'Well, that makes no sense,' the Doctor mused.

Jack finally lowered the knife. 'Why not?'

'Panacea's systems don't use the type of power supply affected by solar flare activity,' the Doctor explained.

'Well, whatever it was it took her completely out,' Jack said, shrugging.

The Doctor, after a brief moment, decided there was no point dwelling on that when he wasn't going to get any answers. 'I take it you got the disease out of me by threatening to kill me?'

'Yeah. Did the trick. It agreed to go.'

'So it _definitely _doesn't want me dead, and now we know it can deactivate in people if it wants to,' the Doctor reasoned. 'But what's its next move? Did it say?'

'It knows it needs to get into Leah, now,' Jack told him. 'Martha's working on that anti-dream serum, but she needs you all back there to test it. And it said that it was going to get worse in you.'

'That's not good,' the Doctor muttered.

'Yeah. I think you got thrown into some kinda lucid nightmare, it's like you were talking to me but you weren't quite there.'

The Doctor thought, and then realised. 'I was … It took my mind. I was stuck.'

'Where?'

'I can't … I can't remember,' he breathed, the hazy details struggling to come to the forefront. Typically, just like a dream, it was very hard to hold onto. 'She was … he was there …'

'Who was?'

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, desperately trying to recall it. A familiar face swam into his vision. '... The Master.'

Jack's eyes widened. 'Why are you saying the Master?'

'He was there,' the Doctor mumbled, the details spilling out from somewhere in a tiny rush. 'With Rose.'

'Rose was there!?'

'Yeah … but she couldn't hear me.'

'It's just a nightmare,'Jack concluded. 'Just something the Lanwa conjured up while it took you over.'

'It wasn't - it can't have been,' the Doctor insisted, looking at him. 'It was … it was the network.'

'What are you talking about? What network?'

Try as he might, the Doctor couldn't quite seem to recall what that actually meant. 'I can't remember. I was ...'

He trailed off.

Jack considered him, and then dismissed it. 'Don't worry about it. Millennia's sent everything through, by the way. Leah's looking at it all. You want something to eat?'

'Yeah,' the Doctor said, immediately realising just how hungry he was. 'I'll get up.' He tried to lift a leg, but it didn't really work. He looked at Jack, who smirked. 'Well … give me a minute.'

* * *

The Doctor managed to partially dress himself into his shirt and trousers, had a shave, and eventually emerged into the living area twenty minutes later. Leah was sitting at the table looking through some plastic sheets and Theo was sitting on a worktop in his pyjamas, having his face dabbed by Jack with a blood-soaked tissue.

The Doctor's internal alarm bells immediately rang. 'What happened?' he asked in a panic, jogging over with a sudden burst of energy.

'Hi, Da!' Theo said happily, blood smeared on his face and pyjama shirt.

'He's fine, he was running around the table and he tripped and hit the window pane,' Jack assured the Doctor.

The Time Lord immediately and impulsively shoved Jack aside. 'D'you hurt anywhere else?' he asked the child quickly, checking his nose and every single limb for any imperfections. 'Did he pass out? Did he …'

'Doctor, he's fine,' Jack insisted. 'Basically bulletproof.'

'Maybe I should run him down to admissions, just to check his …'

'Doctor,' Jack interrupted. 'You're freaking out again. Relax. He's fine.'

At Jack's words the Doctor rolled back his thoughts, and realised he was completely overreacting. 'Yeah, sorry,' he said, but all the same he scooped his son up into a hug, kissing him on the forehead. Enjoying the overabundance of attention, Theo happily buried his face into his dad and clung onto his neck.

'Sorry,' the Doctor muttered to Jack.

Jack just nodded. 'I get it. Got you some food,' he said, pointing at the table where a plate stacked with Fibono meatballs was waiting with a special blue sauce dip, and then offered his arms out to receive Theo. 'I'll clean him up.'

Jack disappeared with Theo as the Doctor took his seat next to Leah.

'You worry _way _too much about him,' Leah informed him.

'I know,' the Doctor agreed, taking a meatball. He looked at the sheets she was examining. Some maps of the clinic's lower levels and various codes and calculations. 'Are those what Millennia sent through?'

'Yeah. We gotta get to this room to get to Millennia's body, don't we?' she asked, pointing at a room already marked on the schematics.

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed.

'I think we should go this way,' Leah said, tracing her finger along a certain path. 'It's all air vents with sealed hatches but I think you could punch through them. It'll get us to the right floor, then it's just two gates, but maybe we can hack those.'

'We?' the Doctor echoed.

Her face scrunched up. 'You're not gonna leave me out _again_, are you?'

'No,' the Doctor said quickly before she could explode. 'As much as I hate it, I've already got a job for you.'

'What's that?' she asked keenly, her eyes aglow.

'Well, while me and Jack are in the lower levels getting Millennia, you've got clear the way back to the Tardis.'

Leah considered that for a moment, and then sighed, exasperated. 'Is this one of those jobs you pretend is really big but it actually isn't and you think I'll believe you cos I'm six?'

He laughed, but shook his head. 'No. I need you to get unaccompanied into the departure lounge, disable the security, get through three layers of staff, commandeer a ship and hold it until me and Jack can get there with Millennia. And you'll have to do all this with Theo in tow.'

Leah stared at him. 'Oh.'

'Still fancy it?' the Doctor asked.

Her face slowly turned into a grin that looked all too familiar. A perfect copy of Rose, joyous at some perilous situation they'd got themselves into. 'Yeah.'

He grinned back. 'We'll work out exactly what you need to do, don't worry. We'll make a plan, and leave tonight.'


	14. Operation Rescue: Part One

**A/N: **So while the real world is swept by an infectious disease, I continue to write a story about ... infectious disease? Okay. :P Stay safe.

* * *

Chapter 14: Operation Rescue: Part One

The clock struck universal midnight, and while most of Pleaneas had settled down, the time travellers in section red 45, room 67 were getting ready to launch into action.

Their departure had been somewhat delayed by Theo throwing a tantrum, but eventually everyone gathered in the living room with everything they'd arrived with and Theo's outburst had been adequately quelled with a banana.

'Okay, final check. You know what you're doing?' the Doctor asked his daughter, kneeling down to her.

'Yep,' Leah replied confidently, beaming from ear-to-ear.

'Remember, no theatrics or heroics, don't change the plan, don't get distracted, and if at any point you're in danger, you abort and get to a safe place. We'll find you. Got it?'

'You realise that's basically the opposite of what you've raised her on, right?' Jack pointed out.

The Doctor ignored him. 'Got it?' he repeated to Leah.

'Yeah, got it!' Leah confirmed, perpetually excited.

'Theo? Ready?' he asked the boy, who wasn't even looking at them.

'Um, what?' Theo asked absently, looking back at his dad as he chewed messily on the banana.

'Remember what I said?'

'Err … Nah?'

The Doctor sighed. 'Theo. I _just _told you.'

Theo finished the banana, dropped the skin onto the floor. 'More nana?' he asked hopefully, banana residue smeared around his mouth.

'Theo, you gotta stick with me and do what I say,' Leah informed her little brother.

'Oh. Okay,' he said as his father wiped at his mouth with a tissue.

'Do everything Leah says, then we'll be able to go home,' the Doctor told him.

'Tardy?' Theo wondered, bright-eyed.

'Yep.'

'Yay!' Theo cheered.

'Doc, it's three minutes past,' Jack interrupted, looking at the clock.

The Doctor nodded in reply to him, standing up to hand over his sonic screwdriver to the ex-Time Agent. 'Okay. Good luck. See you in a bit.'

Jack nodded, giving the kids a wave before heading out of the door.

'When do we go?' Leah asked, poised.

'Give it a few seconds,' the Doctor told her.

'So after this we fix up the Tardis and go get Mummy, yeah?' Leah asked.

He paused, regarding the both of them standing there gazing up at him with such belief in their eyes. The six-year-old and the fourteen-month-old. The girl with the face of her mother and the boy with the hyperactivity of his father. The one who was dying and didn't know, and the other who was probably going to either be dead or be an orphan before his second birthday.

Two living breathing products of the cosy life with Rose that he could feel slipping away like water through his fingers. But he knew there was now nothing left to do but fight. If not to save himself - just to save them.

_Say yes._

He knelt down to the children and gathered them into a hug that lasted just a tad longer than normal. He kissed them both. Theo squirmed. 'Yes,' he said firmly, standing back up. 'Head out. I'll see you at the docks. Be careful.'

Leah nodded, taking her brother's hand and leading him out of the door. It slid shut behind them, leaving him standing on his own in their room - dark, empty, and silent.

He immediately sagged to lean against the wall, closing his eyes.

_It's okay. They'll be fine._

'I know,' the Doctor muttered.

_A week ago you couldn't even let them go on a different ship._

'Not like I get a choice either way, I can't be in two places at once and we need that ship.'

Suddenly his phone started ringing. He plucked it out of his pocket and checked. It was Jackie. He didn't have time for that.

He rejected the call and turned off the phone before she could try again. He put it away, and finally left their room for the last time.

* * *

After dipping into a supply room to retrieve three oxygen masks, Jack arrived at the designated air vent on floor 50. He quickly checked for any unwanted onlookers before moving to the nearby info terminal, and with the aid of the sonic screwdriver, he deftly hacked into the subframe and input a message for Millennia to pick up.

**WE'RE IN ACTION GET READY**

**WHAT CAN I DO? **she replied almost immediately.

**HE'S COMING THROUGH THE VENTS NEED ACCESS FOR INTERNAL HATCHES 19 18 9 8 7**

There was a brief pause. Jack checked for any bystanders again, before he finally got the reply a few moments later.

**ACCESS GRANTED FOR 19 18 9 FOR HIS EXOTRONIC. I CAN'T OPEN THE LAST TWO HATCHES.**

**THAT'LL DO. STAND BY**

* * *

Three minutes after he'd left their room, the Doctor reached Jack, who was lingering by an open air vent on floor 50, tapping away at a terminal.

'Managed to use Millennia's access to hack open the first three hatches but you're on your own for the last two,' Jack murmured, handing him two oxygen masks. 'Otherwise, all quiet. See you on the other side. Good luck.'

'You too,' the Doctor said, pocketing the masks and giving a mock salute before entering into the open air vent.

He crawled for a few metres before Jack promptly sealed the vent behind him and the Time Lord's eyes took a moment to adjust to his new world. It was cold, dark, and soulessly metal, with little painful awkward ridges digging into his hands and knees.

With no time to waste, he started on his journey towards his target destination - hatch 19.

* * *

Jack sealed the entrance to the vents behind the Doctor with a few precise blasts of the sonic screwdriver on the fixings, quickly checking his surroundings one final time before tapping at the terminal again. He typed a quick message to Millennia.

**HE'S COMING. PLEASE DELETE TERMINAL RECORDS AND TAKE US OFF OF SURVEILLANCE**

The message box flashed momentarily, before Millennia's final message came through.

**DELETING TERMINAL RECORDS AND TAKING THE DOCTOR, YOU, LEAH, AND THEO OFF OF PANACEA'S SURVEILLANCE. THANK YOU, JACK. I WILL SEE YOU SOON.**

Jack switched off the terminal. The clock had started ticking. They had thirty minutes until Panacea's automated security system would pick up and investigate their disappearance. So far, so good.

He headed back to the lift to start the next stage of the Doctor's plan.

* * *

The lift opened at the departures floor, and Leah and Theo stepped out of the lift into an empty corridor. Leah quickly buzzed through the plan again in her head, squared up her shoulders, and took hold of her little brother's hand.

'Don't let go of my hand, mmkay?' Leah instructed him.

'Okay,' Theo said.

Leah led them forward, heading down the vacant passageway towards the departure lounge. Someone appeared at the other end of the corridor - an alien with a potent limp and a walking stick. Even from a distance she could see most of his skin was raked and gouged with burn scars. He looked a little bit scary.

Theo stopped dead, frozen like a deer in headlights. 'Leah,' he muttered.

'C'mon,' Leah prompted, pulling his arm slightly.

'But Leah …'

'What?'

'Look,' Theo said, pointing.

Leah followed his finger to the alien man heading directly towards them. She was about to protest, but by the look on Theo's face and the physical state of the advancing man, Leah worked out very rapidly who it was.

The man who had abducted her brother and nearly killed her daddy.

Bac'ou Bar'zelli.

She tried to move, but it was already too late.

He saw them.

* * *

It had been becoming increasingly darker and colder in the Doctor's world as he descended at quite a rate into the very bowels of Panacea's system. As he progressed the air was getting thinner too as the life support steadily disappeared. He ended up putting on his oxygen mask slightly earlier than planned, but that was okay - he'd allowed for it.

He reached his first hatch - a barred metal gate in the middle of the tunnel, blocking access to the next area. There was a scanner and keypad to the left. He raised his exotronic, and with only slight trepidation, placed his palm on the reader.

It scanned, beeped approvingly, and the hatch rolled open. Grinning, he crawled into the next area.

* * *

'Soran!' Bac'ou called in a hoarse voice wide-eyed.

Theo instinctively looked to his big sister who boldly stepped in front of him.

'What do you want?' she asked.

Bac'ou completely ignored her, solely focused on Theo. 'Soran. c'mere. Come to me.'

Theo looked at his big sister again, whose fists were now clenched. 'I said, what do you want!?' she demanded to know.

Bac'ou began to advance, his eyes fixed on the blond boy.

Leah puffed herself up, as though confronting a bear. 'Get _back!' _she screamed.

Bac'ou stopped, and finally looked at her. 'Oh, you're the other one. Leah, or something like that?'

Leah hesitated, a little confused by that. 'How do you know my name?'

'Your mum. We're friends. I know where she is. D'you wanna see her again? I know she wants to see you two.'

'No,' Leah said firmly.

'She's missing you. Keep saying just how much your dad is lying to you.'

'No, he's not.'

'Yes, he is.'

'It's all really simple, actually,' Leah spat out, her eyes narrowed. 'She's infected with a disease and we've gotta find the cure.'

Bac'ou gazed for a moment at her, and suddenly laughed. That was the last thing Leah had been expecting.

'Oh, that's a hell of a story,' Bac'ou said, still smiling. 'So what exactly has he told you?'

'She's infected with a sentient brain disease and it's trying to kill us, and you're part of all the bad things so just go away and leave my brother alone.'

Bac'ou laughed again. 'A sentient disease? Whoever heard of a sentient disease? C'mon. I know you're a smart one. Work it out. He's a chronic liar.'

'You're not gonna trick me and we don't wanna see her so give it up,' Leah said firmly.

Bac'ou rolled his eyes. 'So you're going to cure her from this weird brain disease he's made up and that'll make everything better, is that the plan?'

'I'm not telling you anything.'

He smirked. 'You really believe him, don't you?'

'Yeah,' Leah replied firmly.

'Then there's no reasoning with you, is there? Just a stupid little girl believing in fairy tales about cures on worlds you'll die reaching in split space.'

Leah's eyes narrowed. '... I never told you anything about split space.'

Bac'ou paused, seemed to think about that, and then shrugged as if a nonchalant decision had been made. 'Let me start again. Come with me, because I'm the only chance you have left to live.'

* * *

The vent the Doctor was crawling through was steadily becoming thinner and thinner as he progressed, to the point he was almost getting claustrophobic.

His shoulders were squeezed in and even with the mask giving him direct oxygen he was still struggling slightly to breathe, so when it finally opened out he had to take a few moments just to steady himself, taking some deep breaths.

Feelings of Leah panicking were washing through the bond, but the Doctor, despite his mild paternal panic, knew at this point he could do absolutely nothing to help her. He had to trust her. There was no way of contacting her. She had her job, and he had to believe she'd finish it.

Just as he was about to move, suddenly the tunnel seemed to vibrate underneath him. Slightly alarmed, he looked up the metal tunnel, but saw nothing. At least, until he saw the entire tunnel flash white, and by his well-trained instinct he knew something was headed towards him.

He had to move. He scrambled forward with his mind rushing. What had he missed? What hadn't they accounted for?

He settled on the answer very fast.

Cleaning. The automatic cleaning of the vaults was scheduled and there really was only one method a high tech institution was going to use. Cleaning using a pulse of highly-charged electricity, which was now headed straight towards him.

* * *

'We're getting the cure,' Leah told Bac'ou, filled with conviction.

Bac'ou shrugged. 'Sorry, but you're going to die. Your mum is going to kill you.'

'Mummy wouldn't let me die,' Leah insisted.

He spread a smile. 'Oh, you're so cute. you think there's even an ounce of your mum left in there? That thing inside her is pure evil. It doesn't care about you, and it doesn't care about your brother either. It wants the Doctor and it's willing to rip through your entire family to get to him. You're going to die.'

Leah's insides chilled at his words. 'But … why would you wanna save us?'

'Me? I just want Soran back. Me and the disease made a deal. I'd help her catch your father if she gave me Soran. You're cannon fodder, but I'll take you too if you want to stand a chance of living. Might even be able to stop you being used as a pawns in this insane divorce your parents are going through.'

'You could help us instead,' Leah offered. 'Our daddy will stop it.'

He smiled again, sharing his head in disbelief. 'You have so much faith in him. That's adorable.'

'He's gonna save everyone.'

'Is he now? This thing in your mum is ridiculously powerful. It blew up my base and burnt me alive without even blinking. I've just spent three months in therapy having my entire face reconstructed because of what it did.'

Leah gazed at Bac'ou's scarred face. 'But if it did that why would you help it?'

'Because I prefer to be on the side of the winner, and this disease is too powerful, too clever, and too angry to lose. I can't stop it, you can't stop it - no one can. So make the smart choice, girl. You and your brother come with me, because the rest of the universe - including everyone you love - is going to die.'

* * *

The sound of the electrical cleaning screeching through the system was steadily becoming louder and louder as the Doctor scrambled through the narrow metal tunnels.

It was moving at roughly five times the speed he was, and he still had two hatches left to go. He reached the first, and hastily input the security code.

It flashed red, and a message appeared on the screen:

**ERROR 48: CANNOT OPEN WHILE CLEANING IS IN PROGRESS**

Uh oh.

He rammed in the code again, this time with far more urgency, as if hoping the harder he hit it the more likely it was to spontaneously burst open.

**ERROR 48: CANNOT OPEN WHILE CLEANING IS IN PROGRESS**

The tunnel was beginning to light up as the electric progressed towards him. So he wrapped the fingers of his exotronic under the hatch, and pulled.

The exotronic instantly made a high-pitched screaming noise, clearly struggling as the hatch moved, inch by inch upwards. He managed to get it just high enough for him to slip under.

The tunnel was getting hotter and lighter as he jumped back to a crawling position and scrambled forward to the last hatch.


	15. Operation Rescue: Part Two

**A/N: **So this is a bumper long extended chapter of circa 6kish words (which is the most I've ever done in one chapter, I'll be honest), please enjoy!

Additionally in these times I'd honestly try to throw out more but I'm a key worker so sod's law I gotta carry on. Please stay indoors and enjoy fic and stay smiling and healthy, all :D If anyone needs a chat, I am but a PM away.

* * *

Chapter 15: Operation Rescue: Part Two

'Leah?' Theo asked his sister, bewildered at Bac'ou's words.

'Don't listen, Theo,' Leah ordered him, her eyes narrowed at Bac'ou.

'Soran … ' Bac'ou tried again.

'What part of "get lost" don't you understand?' Leah asked, annoyed. 'We're busy. C'mon, Theo.'

Leah reaffirmed her grip on Theo's hand and defiantly headed forward, dragging Theo after her to walk straight past Bac'ou. As they stormed past, Bac'ou suddenly launched out his hand and grabbed Theo's trailing arm.

'Soran, please!' he begged.

'My name's Theo,' the boy said adamantly. 'Leave me alone. You bad.'

Bac'ou looked devastated. 'Please. Let me save you. It's going to kill you. I wanna save you.'

'You bad,' Theo repeated.

'Didn't I look after you? Weren't you happy? I gave you everything you asked for. I can save your life. I can protect you from it. _Please _let me.'

'Go 'way!' Theo yelled, ripping away from him and Leah and running. Leah followed him, the both of them burying into the crowded departure lounge. Leah quickly retook her brother's hand before checking if they'd been followed. There was no sign of Bac'ou.

* * *

The Doctor had finally reached the last hatch, just as the electrical surge was almost to blinding proportions. Once again he managed to lift the hatch up, and with more speed than haste he threw himself under the gap and into the next section.

Scrambling desperately, finally he reached the external hatch and urgently punched his way through. With a loud clang the metal grate hit the floor and he rolled out into a storage room, dropping with an undignified thud onto the floor. Four seconds later the tunnel lit up, cracked loudly, and within half a second the light disappeared.

Lying on the floor, for a moment the Doctor just breathed, staring at the hatch. He quickly regrouped and sat up, just listening. It was silent, besides the whir of nearby engines, and it was freezing cold. No life support.

He was right in the heart of Panacea.

He got up, moving to the door and pulling it slightly ajar. Almost immediately he heard a low-pitched whirring sound, and seconds later a high-tech drone sentry appeared in his field of vision.

He ducked back out of view as the bright red light from its laser eye reflected on the clean metal surfaces surrounding him. He waited until it had gone, and then moved out.

* * *

With Bac'ou gone, Leah pushed out all of her thoughts regarding what Bac'ou had said and refocused her brain on her allotted task.

'Just follow my lead,' she told her little brother, who was still a little bit antsy. She walked up to the departures desk, and immediately burst into tears. 'Please help us our daddy got on a ship and we don't know which one and he's gone and we're alone!' she wailed in a high-pitched voice.

The attendant blinked in surprise. 'Sorry, what ship was he on?'

'The one that just left!'

'Okay, don't worry, we'll find him. Follow me.'

* * *

After successfully dodging the sentries the Doctor finally made it to the right room, slipping inside and partially closing the door behind him before looking up.

Lit up by the computer screens and fluorescent cables surrounding her, a woman was lying - apparently asleep - in a large clear tube filled with some sort of liquid solution, attached to a thousand wires snaking in and out of her skin. There was a heart rate monitor beeping out a slightly elevated rhythm and plenty of extra machinery keeping her body alive in such a hostile environment.

He had to double take. The woman he'd spent a large portion of his life lamenting was now in front of him exactly as he remembered. But there was no time to dwell on it. He gathered himself together and jogged over to the nearest terminal to input a message for her.

**I'M HERE.**

There was a momentary pause before Millennia replied.

**OVERRIDE THE PROTOCOLS AND THEN BEGIN TRANSFER.**

He did as instructed, deftly and quickly hacking his way into Panacea's very core with the support of Millennia working from the inside. His fingers were stiffening up from the cold but he kept working, until he managed to initiate the transfer and Millennia's consciousness started the download.

While it was processing and draining the tube she was in, he moved to the door to check they were alone, peeking out through the gap to the corridor. Still empty, and no sign of any drone sentries. He waited patiently for the download to complete.

* * *

'Faran, we've got two lost children here,' the attendant said to the man standing by the admissions passage. 'Father went on the last ship.'

Faran looked at the two children. Leah forced a few tears and purposely wobbled her lip.

'Leave it with me,' Faran told the attendant, who rapidly disappeared. He smiled at them both. 'Don't worry, well find your dad. What are your names?'

'I'm … I'm Leah Tyler and my baby brother is Theo,' Leah sobbed out. 'Our daddy went on the last ship out …'

'That's okay, let me see if I can locate him on the other side,' Faran said, and raised his infowatch to his mouth. 'Calling Silas in the arrivals terminal, come in.'

He waited briefly. There was nothing but static back.

'Silas?' Faran tried again.

Nothing.

Faran glanced at the kids as he sidestepped to a colleague, conversing briefly in hushed tones. Leah's sharp gallifreyan hearing picked it up clearly.

'There's no reply from arrivals.'

'Weird,' the other staff member responded. 'Systems down again?'

'Looks like it. I've got two lost little ones here, say their dad went on the last transport.'

'I'd stick them on the next transport and leave a message for arrivals to pick up.'

'Okay,' Faran said, and moved back to Leah and Theo, smiling. Leah tried to pretend she hadn't heard the entire conversation. 'I can't reach the arrivals area at the moment, so what I'm going to do is put you on the next ship, then when you get to the other side my friend will help you find your dad. Okay?'

'Okay,' Leah said, blubbing a little.

Just as her dad had predicted, the attendant gestured for them to follow him and placed them at the front of the queue for the next ship.

Perfect.

* * *

The terminal beeped, and suddenly the glass top on the pod Millennia was lying in began to retract.

Her eyes shot open. She gasped, and then quickly began to choke without oxygen. He rapidly dived to her with the second oxygen mask he was carrying, placing it over her mouth and nose and pressing the button to fix it into place. Millennia took a few deep breaths to recover, before finally looking up at him with shining eyes.

The Doctor waved, and as fast as he could he checked her vital signs and swiftly disconnected her from all of the wires.

Once she was free she tried to stand up, but clearly she was too weak to do so. The Doctor instead turned his back to her so she could clamber on in a piggyback ride, taking most of her weight on his exotronic. He adjusted her in his grip, and moved to the door.

He was currently two minutes late for the rendezvous, so he moved as fast as he could back up the corridor, where almost immediately he saw a sentry drone. He scurried behind a wall of shelves, and waited for it to pass.

* * *

_'Boarding now commencing for flight 45-67-89b, please enter the airlock two at a time,'_ a disembodied voice announced, and the entrance door to the capsule opened. The staff member gestured for them to proceed.

'Just follow me, Theo,' Leah told her brother in a mutter. She took a deep breath to ready herself, before passing through the gate and walking into the airlock.

The door behind them whizzed shut as the airlock decompressed and the door to the ship opened. They passed the threshold. With her dual hearts thundering out a double-step charleston, Leah immediately launched into action, diving to the keypad and quickly inputting the lockdown code her father had given her. The door whizzed shut behind them, and sealed.

* * *

The sentry drone flew by ever so slowly, the red dot of its eye scanning in all directions as it went. The Doctor instinctively held his breath, and waited a good minute after it had gone before he cautiously stepped out again into the silent, dark corridor. After he was sure it was no longer in range, he rapidly picked up the pace and moved to the door to pass through.

Millennia was becoming slightly heavier with every step the Doctor took as his body progressively fatigued under her weight. Despite this he kept going, eventually emerging into the new room where his preparation had told him there were a couple of stationed sentry drones. As he entered he slowed down, taking cautious steps and listening intently for any movement or the sight of red lights. Nothing he could detect.

He kept his pace slow and quiet as he progressed across the open floor, aiming to reach the door at the far end. Still, no sign of the drones. It was concerning him that they didn't seem to be around.

He arrived at the far door, and managed to get his exotronic palm on the security lock. The door hissed open, and he boosted Millennia in his grip before stepping through to the final corridor. Jack would be waiting for him at the other end.

The door automatically slid shut behind him, and his acute vision immediately registered the two missing drones hovering at the far end of the corridor roughly fifty metres from him.

He had no way but forward. He moved, slowly and stealthily, desperate to get to the first spot of cover in an alcove twenty metres away, which was mostly filled with a rare source of heat - a boiler - feeding the power for the transmission dynamos whirring above him. After a nerve-wracking thirty seconds he got there, and settled himself momentarily to peek out at the drones. They were rapidly moving towards him and Millennia. He got back as far as he could into the alcove, shielding his and Millennia's thermal output with the boiler in front of him.

The two drones passed by, buzzing as they went with their red laser eyes scanning the surroundings. He gave it twenty seconds, and then cautiously stepped back out.

Suddenly one of the drones whirled back into his vision and he jumped back behind the boiler, nearly falling over with the weight of Millennia on his back. He managed to catch himself as he felt Millennia's arms tighten around his shoulders and neck. She was shaking. Whether that was from fear or the cold he didn't quite know.

Through the pipes he could see the drone was lit up in a ferocious red streak of light, with its light scanning its surroundings frantically. It knew something was there.

He burrowed a little deeper behind the boiler, and held his breath.

* * *

'It's stuck!' Leah cried into the intercom to the staff as instructed by her father. 'Help!'

_'There's a malfunction on the door, we're trying our best to fix it,' _a voice responded. _'Please stay calm, well be right with you.'_

Then, silence.

'What now?' Theo asked.

Leah ensured the intercom was off before she replied, 'we gotta wait for Daddy and Uncle Jack.' She checked her rapidly developing time sense. 'They've got six minutes to get to us before we go to plan B.'

* * *

After a very tense three minutes, the drone finally left and the Doctor relaxed a little. He peeked his head out of the alcove, and watched as the drones passed through the door he'd entered from and disappeared.

He was running very late, now. He readjusted Millennia again, who briefly squeezed him to let him know she was okay. He nodded, and headed back up to the exit again.

He did another handscan, and the door retracted to reveal Jack waiting just a few metres away. Jack attempted to take Millennia, but the Doctor shook his head, and nodded to the lift instead. Jack took his cue, and led the way.

They got there and Jack inputted for the departures floor. The lift began to move, and they rapidly passed back into the area covered by life support. Jack removed his oxygen mask.

'You were late, five minutes until we're back on Panacea's radar,' Jack told him, removing the Doctor's mask.

'Drones weren't in the right places,' the Doctor excused himself. 'Millennia?'

Jack helped the woman down, supporting her as she took off her mask with feeble hands.

'Kinok,' she gasped in gallifreyan, looking between them both with shining eyes.

'What she say?' Jack asked, looking at the Doctor. 'Is that gallifreyan?'

'Ah, of course … she can't speak English,' the Doctor realised, and looked at her. 'Eon'priacha. Kai'berr bula eon'Tardis-n. Wi-rebb terna kai. Kai'beshh'wi-srika-n.'

She nodded. 'Shikla.'

'Just told her we're heading back to the Tardis,' the Doctor summarised to Jack.

'Okay. How come I understood her before?' Jack wondered.

'Panacea's translator, Millennia must've registered gallifreyan in the database as part of her personal integration,' the Doctor reasoned. 'Now she's separate, gallifreyan's been removed and she's not translating anymore.'

'Nei'veeto, ei'xoll'ionoh,' Millennia muttered.

'Kai'haa'eon,' the Doctor replied, and looked at Jack. 'Hold onto her, she's dizzy.'

Jack obliged, giving her more support and an accompanying smile. She smiled back. 'Hey Doc - what's "you're beautiful" in gallifreyan?' he asked.

'Eon'afa'kahsi … wait, why do you …?' the Doctor asked, trailing off as he turned back and realised. 'Jack, stop it.'

'Oh lighten up, I'm kidding,' Jack said, grinning.

'N-ce'po'holl?' Millennia asked.

The Doctor sighed. 'Po'akyla.'

Millennia looked at Jack, and looked somewhat bemused. 'Ei'ianam …'

The Doctor smirked. 'Eon'marr'mann ye po-n,' he just as the lift stopped. 'Okay, Jack, you know what to do.'

Jack nodded as the Doctor helped himself to his sonic screwdriver in Jack's pocket. 'See you in a sec.'

* * *

The Doctor jogged into the departure lounge, where Leah and Theo had obligingly caused a small commotion. Amid the chaos of the confused crowd and the clueless staff, he strode straight up to the desk and flashed his psychic paper accompanied by a charismatic pearly smile.

'Maintenance,' he said to the staff member. 'What's happened?'

The staff member barely even looked at the ID, far too panicked. 'The system's glitched or something, it's locked two small humanoid children in one of the ships on dock three!'

'Oh, don't worry, probably just priority conflicts from those new system upgrades we put in,' the Doctor reeled off without hesitation. 'Let the kids know maintenance is here, they'll be fine and out in just a few minutes.'

The attendant nodded. 'Thank you!'

The Doctor jogged down the large, crowded terminal to dock three. The nearby attendant did his job for him as he cleared the crowd, and the Doctor was allowed to slip easy into the airlock. The door shut and sealed behind him, and with his thumb on the button of the sonic screwdriver inside his jacket pocket, he gave it a quick blast to take out the security camera and audio in the corner. It fizzed and died immediately.

'Leah!' he prompted, rapping lightly on the door to the ship with his knuckles.

Three seconds later the door whizzed open to reveal his children standing there, both of them beaming up at him.

'Hi!' Leah said happily. 'You're late.'

He laughed with a mix of pride and relief, diving very briefly to gather them up in a hug. 'Good job!' he said happily, kissing them both.

'Did you get her?' Leah asked keenly.

'Yep, not out of the woods yet, though. Leah, stay here on the door, Theo, with me,' he ordered, taking the boy's hand and leading him into the cockpit. He searched rapidly for the control override box, and eventually spotted it just above the door - slightly too high to reach.

He thought quickly, his eyes settling on Theo. 'Right, on my shoulders,' he said, taking the boy and lifting him up to sit astride on his shoulders. He carefully stood up and stepped to the box above his head, where Theo was now level. 'Theo, I need you to hit the big yellow button in front of you.'

'One?' the little boy asked, pointing vaguely at it. 'I hit hard?'

'Yep. Go on, whack it.'

With glee at his daddy's word, Theo enthusiastically slapped the button. Seconds later, the console lit up.

'Nice one!' the Doctor cheered his boy, lifting him off of his shoulders and sitting him in the captain's chair. He noticed a pilot's cap sitting on the console, so he retrieved that and plonked it on Theo. 'Right, Captain Theo, need you to stay right here in the best seat in the house and keep watch. Got it?'

'Yeah!' Theo said enthusiastically as the large hat promptly slid down to swallow the little boy's head.

The Doctor whirled around and immediately started programming. For such a complex set of systems inside Panacea, it was an incredibly simple dual engine system on the transport. Within fifteen seconds he'd successfully hacked it and the ship was launching.

The intercom burst into life. _'Transport B5, what the hell are you doing? There are two kids in there!'_

'Don't worry, they're mine,' the Doctor replied, and switched off the intercom. He ran the sonic over the tracking system's interface to temporarily scramble the ship's signal, took the manual controls, and edged the ship forward.

He briefly looked at the radar - nothing following them yet. He accelerated a little more, until they were going at a good, steady rate. He navigated with ease around the curve of the circular departure dock, eventually reaching dock 55 on the far side. He engaged the docking system, and the ship automatically latched onto the airlock and connected itself.

'Leah, open it now!' the Doctor shouted to the girl in the other room.

He heard the airlock hiss open, and the footsteps of Jack and Millennia arriving. The airlock shut again, and he rapidly detached the ship.

'We're okay, looking good?' Jack asked as he arrived into the cockpit seconds later.

'So far,' the Doctor confirmed, glancing over the radar again. 'Where's Millennia?'

'Leah's with her.'

'Right, let's get out of here. Everyone hold onto something, we're going into ignition!'

'Ready!' Jack confirmed, holding onto the captain's chair while simultaneously protecting Theo.

'Ready!' Theo yelled happily, still in his captain's hat.

'We're ready!' Leah shouted from the other room.

The Doctor nodded. 'Ignition in three, two, one …'

He throttled the engines and the ship jumped into action. It suddenly ripped through the atmosphere of Pleaneas, chewing up and spitting out the miles before it burst through the atmosphere in a wash of blue light and broke into space.

He pushed on the engines a little more to break past the gravitational pull of Pleaneas, until eventually they were free. He checked the radar. Still nothing following. He tapped out the destination of the arrivals base on the nearby moon, and decreased the speed to a nicer G-force for everyone.

'Okay?' he shouted, looking at Jack and Theo. Jack just nodded, while Theo seemed to have enjoyed it as he was beaming from ear to ear.

'Yeah!' Leah called back.

'Rock!' Theo suddenly shouted. The Doctor checked him, then followed his indicative finger out the viewing window to a nearby asteroid.

'Theo, it's over 50,000 parsecs away,' the Doctor said. 'Honestly, even if I was aiming for it I wouldn't hit it at this rate for about 550 years. But thanks, captain.'

'Oh,' Theo said, his little face screwed up.

'Daddy! Come here!' Leah called.

'Coming! Just keep everything the same here,' the Doctor told Jack.

Jack nodded. 'Will do.'

The Doctor moved quickly back to the passenger area, where Leah and Millennia were sitting together on one of the benches. Millennia looked very pale.

'She says she feels sick,' Leah told him in gallifreyan.

'Okay, thanks. Can you find me something for her to drink?'

Leah nodded and rushed off. The Doctor dropped to his haunches in front of Millennia, checking her pulse. 'Millennia?' he asked, looking up at her.

'Sorry,' she gasped in gallifreyan with a glazed expression. 'This is so much harder than being in a machine.'

He shrugged. 'Still in a machine, just a different kind,' he explained. 'Might take a little while for you to adjust to it. What did you base the body's form on?'

'Don't know really, Panacea did most of it, I just sort of aimed for my old body … but it's been so long I couldn't really remember,' Millennia confessed.

He pulled out his stethoscope and checked her chest, listening to each set of thuds in turn. 'Well, two hearts. Bit fast.'

'Good or bad?' she asked.

'I don't know what's normal for you,' he replied. 'We'll do a full scan in the Tardis when we get back.'

'Thank you,' she said sincerely. 'For everything.'

'That's okay,' he said, and took the seat next to her. 'I thought you'd hate me more… for what I did,' he confessed.

'Oh, I did, but I thought about it and realised … what's the point?' she said honestly. 'You're all I've got and now something's trying to take you away, too. I wanna help.'

'I'm not asking you to come to split space with me, far from it,' the Doctor said quickly, 'just to help me set it up. Once we're done I'll take you anywhere you like.'

She sighed, running her hand through her hair. 'Where would I even go?'

He thought about that very briefly, drawing an instant conclusion. 'Could always stay with us.'

'But you've got a life - Rose, Leah, Theo. What am I, exactly?'

He gazed at her, the feelings in his hearts fluttering fleetingly, just as Leah came back with a bottle of water. The conversation was immediately over.

* * *

The ship continued to carve through space to the arrivals moon without interruption.

The minutes ticked by, and with every click of the clock Millennia was becoming less and less coherent, and the Doctor was beginning to get a little worried. He'd already started her on some supplemental oxygen and located some blankets and cushions for her to rest on, but it was very apparent she was struggling and he needed to get her to the TARDIS as soon as possible.

'Is she gonna be okay?' Leah wondered, gazing at the sleeping woman.

'Yeah, just need to get her to the Tardis for a proper checkover,' the Doctor told his daughter, checking Millennia's hearts again with his stethoscope. They'd gone from being a bit fast to becoming incredibly slow. 'Millennia, can you hear me?' he asked in gallifreyan.

She didn't bat an eyelid, apparently asleep. He didn't bother pursuing it, pulling up the blanket around her, making her a little more comfortable and allowing her to sleep.

'Can I help?' Leah asked quietly.

'Just keep an eye on her, would you?' he asked his girl. 'You're my eyes. I need to check on where we are.'

'Okay,' Leah confirmed, jumping up into a nearby seat to stare at Millennia as the Doctor moved back into the pilot's cabin where Jack and Theo were still lingering.

'How's she doing?' Jack asked.

'Not good,' the Doctor muttered in reply, side-glancing at Theo who was too busy playing a captain to listen in. 'We've got to get her to the Tardis as soon as we can.'

'What d'you think it is?'

'Not sure. Body might have rejected her consciousness.'

'But you can fix it?'

'Maybe. But like I say, need the Tardis for that. What's the ETA?'

'Five minutes. They're still not following us,' Jack noted.

'I know,' the Doctor muttered, biting his lip as he tapped at the console. 'They should be. Hold on.'

He switched the intercom back on, and for a moment they both stood there, listening.

_'Repeat - mauve alert to all Pleaneas ships, do not head to the arrivals moon! Repeat! Do NOT head to the arrivals moon!'_

'Is that us?' Jack wondered.

'I don't think so, somehow,' the Doctor murmured.

_'Control, this is Transport C7. We are two minutes from docking, do we abort?' _another pilot asked.

_'Transport C7 evacuate immediately and return to departures! All ships return to departures, clearance will be provided!'_

_'Control this is Transport M1, what's happening?'_

_'Large scale incident has been reported at the arrivals moon, do NOT dock, I repeat, do NOT dock, return to departures!'_

The Doctor and Jack exchanged a look as the arrivals moon edged ever nearer. They could even see it through the screen. It seemed normal enough.

'Well,' the Doctor began, switching off the intercom again. 'Not like we get much of a choice.'

'No,' Jack agreed. 'Can we scan or something?'

'No,' the Doctor said after briefly checking the console.

'Then when we dock, you stay here, I'll go out and look,' Jack offered.

'Better idea - you stay here and _I'll _go out and look,' the Doctor corrected.

Jack sighed, already knowing he wasn't going to win this one. 'All right.'

* * *

The Doctor left the others behind as he stepped out into the airlock to investigate what had happened on the arrivals moon. He'd half-expected to be pulled up by security, but as the airlock opened on the other side and he stepped through, there was nothing but eerie silence.

Frowning a little, he cautiously advanced forward through the corridor to emerge into the main docking area. There he was greeted with a sight that chilled him to the bone.

The entire arrivals lounge was coated with bodies. Heaps and heaps of various species, genders and ages were acting like a second carpet, all strewn out in awkward positions as though they'd been fleeing from something and hadn't been able to outrun it. Entire families were grouped together - babies in the arms of their parents and their siblings clinging to each other - as well as the security and staff dead at their desks and stations.

Almost immediately, he saw the cause of it all standing in the circle of the dead, smiling directly at him.

Rose.

His breath caught in his throat as he gazed at her soulless, emotionless expression. For a moment, they just stared at each other from across the room.

'... Why did you do this?' he croaked, struggling to form words.

'Why not?' she countered.

Her answer nearly killed him on the spot. 'How could you?'

Her next answer was even worse than the first.

'Because I can.'

She instantly stepped over the body of an alien man, advancing straight towards him. He backed away, but suddenly felt something smash into his chest and launch him across the room. He slammed into the nearest wall with a cry and slid to the floor - a victim of the most powerful psychic and telekinetic abilities he'd ever witnessed.

'Go on then, sweetheart, _run,' _the Lanwa snapped, moving within five metres of him. 'Where's your immortal lapdog now?'

He could barely move, and the pungent sandalwood smell was overtaking him again, seemingly flooding itself inside every single sense he had. He could smell it, taste it in on his tongue, feel its coldness on his skin, almost see it as wisps in the air, and it even sounded like a quiet scream in his ears. His time and telepathic senses were being flooded too, with his time sense throbbing and his psychic area pulsating as though a wasp had stung it directly.

'Please stop,' the Doctor gasped, contorting on the floor.

'Oh, does it hurt?' she growled mockingly. 'It'd hurt less if you stopped fightin' me, yeah? Just give up. It's so much easier. That's what Rose did.'

'I _know _she didn't give in, that's not her,' he groaned. 'You took her.'

She sighed, and temporarily let him go. He sagged, aching from head to toe and too tired to move as she stepped towards him, towering over his body menacingly.

'You can't kill me,' the Doctor breathed. 'You need me alive.'

'You're right, of course,' the Lanwa said. 'But if you're gonna insist on playin' this dumb game then it'll take a bit more time, but I _will _get you, Time Lord.'

The Doctor used the wall to shakily stand up, fixing her with a hard gaze. 'I'm warning you. Get out of Rose.'

She smirked. 'Or what?'

'I'll destroy you.'

She laughed uproariously. 'Gonna kill me? I don't think so. You think you could actually kill this body?'

She strode up to him to be just a metre away. The tense atmosphere amplified, but he didn't move. It reached into its jacket, pulled out a gun, loaded it slowly and deliberately in front of his eyes with six good bullets, and held it out for him to take.

'Go on,' it encouraged. 'Shoot me.'

He looked briefly at the gun, but did nothing.

She took hold of his unresisting hand, placed the gun in his palm, and held to point to the middle of her forehead.

'Pull that trigger, and it all stops,' she said. 'Go on. You can just shoot me. Everythin' that's about to happen. Just stop it before it starts. All you gotta do is kill Rose Tyler.'

The words burned into him as he stared into her eyes with the gun pressed against her forehead. His mind was filled with images of Rose as she had been - beautiful, smiling, and free. Gone, now.

Everything he'd been tormented by since the fire - the endless questions, arguments with his subconscious, and the eternal screaming and ripping pain in his chest - all hit him at once.

He knew the score. All the odds were stacked against him. He had more of a chance of being proposed to by Davros after a candlelit dinner while simultaneously being struck by lightning than beating this thing.

It would be so much simpler to just pull the trigger.

But he couldn't.

He locked his gaze on hers and spoke very clearly, slowly, and precisely:

'Rose. I love you. I'm working on it. Stay with me. Just a little longer.'

He turned the gun around and offered it back to the Lanwa.

She took it, and slipped it back in her jacket. 'Don't say I didn't warn ya.'

He was instantly wrapped in that fateful sandalwood aroma again, this time to torturous proportions. Within seconds he was on the floor writhing in pain, unable to stop himself screaming as every single sense he had was viciously attacked in another calamitous telepathic assault. He forced his shields up, desperately trying to protect his brain as he felt the Lanwa drill deeper and deeper into his psyche …

Something was running down his face - warm liquid. Tears? Blood? His head hurt way too much to figure out which one. His whole body was shaking violently as the Lanwa completely overloaded him with psi energy, bulldozing through his mental protection and hacking at his brain repeatedly with a hatchet.

He couldn't let this happen.

He fought back - slowly but surely rejecting her intrusion into his mind. With a lot of time, pain, and effort, he finally managed to shove her back out. His vision immediately cleared and he saw her stumble, clearly a little surprised at that.

'Wow,' she murmured, recovering with her hand on her head. 'You're tough when you're awake.'

'Last warning,' he gasped, struggling to all fours. 'Get out of Rose.'

'God, you're like a broken record, aren't ya? I gave you a chance, Time Lord. Remember that. Everythin' I do from this point on is now your fault. You had your chance to stop what's about to happen. This? This is just the start. And you've gotta sleep sometime.'

She walked away, and everything fell silent.

He just gasped for a moment, looking down at the puddle of blood forming on the floor beneath his nose. His head was pounding, with every atom of his brain screaming protest at what had just happened.

_You should've killed me._

He didn't reply to his subconscious, wiping at his nose. The resultant smear of blood on his hand and arm was a little alarming.

'Doctor?' Jack's voice came from behind him, panicked. 'What the …'

The Doctor turned back to him, still feeling blood from his nose running down his face. Jack double-taked.

'What happened!?'

'Rose.'

'She was here!?'

The Doctor looked around at the carnage of bodies surrounding them. 'The Lanwa did this. For no reason.'

'... Jesus Christ,' was all Jack could manage, wide-eyed. ' You're bleeding.'

'It …'

He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a child's cry. He shot to attention, looking around. 'Where'd that come from!?'

'Over here,' Jack said quickly, running past him to a pile of bodies near the exit doors. The Doctor stumbled after him.

Jack suddenly stopped. 'Oh god no.'

'What!?' the Doctor asked, reaching him.

'It's Jinu.'

The Doctor froze, horrified. 'No,' he whispered as he laid eyes on the woman, lying there still warm. He dropped down, checking for any lifesigns, but there was nothing. Just a tiny movement from inside Jinu's clothes. The Doctor pulled back her coat, and there was Freja, crying as the only survivor of Rose's massacre.

He reached down and picked up the little girl, who seemed to recognise him and stopped crying. He slipped her inside his coat where she'd started her life, and she settled, comfortable and familiar.

He looked at Jack. 'Where?' was all he asked.

'Jargini, subsector seven. Big purple clam shell outside. Can't miss it,' Jack murmured.

'Go back to the others, I'll land the Tardis in the ship so they don't see this. You get Millennia to the infirmary, and I'll take us to Jargini.'

Jack looked around the room again at the devastation that surrounded them. '... This has only just started, hasn't it?'

'Yes.'

Jack turned to leave to do as ordered, but then stopped and turned back. 'I don't care cos I'm with you no matter what, but please don't lie to me, Doctor. Is Tuvala half as easy as you say it is?'

The Doctor looked at him, the bleeding from his nose only just abating. 'No. We're probably going to die.'

Jack just nodded, and left.

* * *

**A/N:** Translation

Wi-kinok - Thank you so much.

Eon'priacha. Kai'berr bula eon'Tardis. Wi-rebb terna kai. Kai'beshh'wi-srika-n. - You're welcome. We're going to my Tardis. Stick with us. We're going to move fast.

Shii - Okay

N-ce'po'holl? - What did he say?

Po'akyla - He's flirting

Ei'ianam … - I'm confused

Eon'marr'mann ye po-n - You'll get used to him


	16. The Doctor's Army

**A/N: **Woo finally got there! :D Continued thank yous for sticking with me, and stay safe and well ... unlike these guys.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Doctor's Army

The Doctor took it solely upon himself to complete the painful task of telling Jinu's husband what had happened to his wife. He explained everything he could, answering all the man's questions and telling the story of Jinu's last few days in extraordinary detail. After everything had been said, he eventually left the widower to grieve with his new baby girl and returned to the TARDIS.

He went straight to the infirmary and spent the next few hours examining Millennia, giving her a complete health check from head to toes.

'Well, the good news is you're a completely healthy 30-year-old woman … ish,' the Doctor concluded when he finished all the scans. 'Two hearts with a binary vascular system and a gallifreyan brain, though you've got a Kaliyean-type immune system and everything else is pretty much human.'

'So basically I'm a hell of a mess,' Millennia said, smiling.

'Yep,' the Doctor agreed, grinning back. 'But it's all working together very well.'

'So that's the good news, what's the bad?' she asked.

'Your body is having a little trouble taking the consciousness. Not as bad as it could be though, a few hours in the Zero Room should do the trick. I think you've got enough gallifreyan in you for that to work.'

'Think?' Leah echoed, popping up beside Millennia's bed unannounced.

'The Zero Room is only attuned for gallifreyan genetics so it won't do much for a body that's not gallifreyan, unless you're lucky,' the Doctor explained.

'Would it work on me?'

'No idea. Probably.'

'Why don't you use it?' Leah wondered.

'Only works on certain conditions for me,' the Doctor replied. 'Post-regenerative stuff, mainly. This should work with Millennia though based on the type of healing she needs. Jack!'

The immortal looked up from across the room where he was entertaining Theo. 'What's up?'

'Can you take Millennia to the Zero Room? The Tardis will show you the way.'

'Sure thing.'

'Jack's going to take you to the Zero Room, I'll check in on you in a few hours,' the Doctor explained to Millennia in gallifreyan.

'Okay,' she said, nodding.

'Meanwhile, I need you to run through the scanner too,' the Doctor said to Leah as soon as they'd left.

Leah froze, immediately worried. 'I thought you said I didn't have it?'

'You don't,' the Doctor lied with confidence. 'Your nightmare might have come from something else though so I just want to check.'

'Oh, okay,' Leah said, and he lifted her up to sit in the scanner. The lid closed and he ran the program with a few deft taps on the keypad, checking very specifically for Lanwa's disease alongside a normal health check. The lasers tracked over the little girl and he waited for the results, wishing and praying with every fibre of his being that he was wrong.

Twenty seconds later, the results buzzed through.

**SCANNING FOR CHROMOSOMAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROFILE ...**

**XX - Ident 1-78 XY (father)/Ident 16745 XX (mother) [cont'd]**

**Genetic breakdown: 3:1 1-78/16745 [details request? Y/N 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... -end-]**

**IDENTIFIED PROFILE: L TYLER**

**SCANNING PHYSICAL STATUS ****…**

**SCANNING MENTAL STATUS ****…**

**CORRELATING WITH PROFILE ****…**

**General health rating: Excellent**

**SCANNING SYMPTOMS ****…**

**CORRELATING WITH PROFILE ...**

**ABNORMAL PRESENTATION FROM ID:**

**Cephalgia (cont'd)**

**Elevated psi levels (670psiu) -end-**

**CORRELATING WITH TARDIS DATABASE ****…**

**JOURNEY HISTORY LOADED:**

**Jargini - Region 12**

**Pleaneas - Region 5**

**Sol 3 - Region 1**

**Hivernia - Region 2 -end-**

**SCANNING DISEASE DATABASES ****…**

**CHECKING PROFILE IMMUNITIES ****…**

**INITIATING REQUESTED SCAN FOR LANWA ENDOPSYCHOLYSIS ****…**

**FINISHED SCANNING.**

**100 percent probability: LANWA ENDOPSYCHOLYSIS**

**2 percent probability: TOXOPLASMOSIS (SOL 3)**

**-end-**

**REPEAT? Y/N**

Despite knowing it had been coming, at the words printed on the screen every cell in the Doctor's body abruptly froze to ice and burst into fire simultaneously. He gazed at the girl still sealed - oblivious - in the scanner, took a deep breath, and retracted the lid.

'Nothing to report,' he said, smiling as she sat up. The guilt in him surged as his little girl's face lit up in relief. He scooped her up, lifting her off of the scanner and embracing her.

She hugged him back, her arms locked around his neck.

'Okay?' he asked.

'I'm scared,' she said in a small voice.

He paused for just a moment, kissing her forehead before sitting her down on a nearby bed and dropping to kneel down in front of her. 'Talk to me.'

'I'm scared of it getting me. Will it get me?'

His breath caught in his throat. '... Maybe,' he ended up saying.

'What happens if it gets me?'

'What d'you mean?'

'Um, like what happens to me? Will I stop being me? Where will my brain go?'

He gazed at her innocent face, and decided if he couldn't tell her she already had it then at least he could be honest about _something_.

'You'd still be in there, it's just the disease would be controlling you,' he said. 'Like your mum is still in there, she's just suppressed. Like mind control.'

'But where would I be?'

'I can't say.'

'Will it hurt?'

'Your mum didn't seem to be in pain.'

'Does she know what's happened to her? Can she see what she's doing to us?'

'I don't know,' he confessed. 'But wherever she is, I know she's fighting it with everything she's got. She won't give up. It might be more powerful than us, but it's on its own. Strength in numbers.'

Leah shook her head. 'No … it's not on its own.'

'No?'

'The man you said shot you … Bac'ou. He was there. Theo recognised him.'

The Doctor's eyes widened. 'Where?'

'When we got to the departure place he was there.'

'Did he see you?'

'Yeah. He talked to us and said the disease was gonna win because it couldn't be beaten and he wanted to save Theo. He said he could protect me and Theo from the disease. He begged us to go with him but we ran away.'

'Did he chase you?'

'No.'

'Good,' he muttered, and leant forward to hug her. The connection between them surged, and he'd never felt the need to protect her more than in that moment. He just didn't know how yet.

'May I go to sleep now, please? I'm tired,' Leah asked politely when they parted.

He internally winced, and made great efforts not to show it. 'Just stay up until we get back to Torchwood, your gran will probably want to smother you.'

'Okay,' she said. 'When are we going back?'

'I've just got to do something then I'll take us back,' the Doctor said. 'Two minutes.'

'Okay!' she repeated, looking a lot more perky than she had just a few minutes previously. She jumped off of the bed and skipped out the door to join her uncle and her brother.

The Doctor briefly watched her go, his hearts panging painfully in the ribs of his fragile-feeling chest. He then walked into the medicine cupboard and locked the door behind him, sitting down on a storage crate and staring blankly at the locked door.

_You can cry, you know._

'That won't help,' he muttered.

_But you'll feel better._

He ran his hands down his face. '... I thought I could do this but I don't think so anymore.'

There was a long pause from the voice in his head before it spoke.

_You could just go._

'Go where?'

_Take the TARDIS and everyone in Torchwood and go somewhere in time and space it will never ever find you. Lock yourself, Leah, and Theo in some kinda void ship or something psi can't penetrate and let the Lanwa die. You know my body can't sustain it for more than a few months. _

'I can't let you die.'

_You know full well I'd tell you to forget about me and keep our family and friends alive, yeah?_

'But-'

_I know what you're gonna say but you know that this has gone beyond now. You're infected, Leah's infected, Theo will be infected and now you know the cure's in an impossible place. This disease is one of the most powerful things you've ever come up against and the only reason you're still here is because Jack's ready to put a bullet in your head. The easiest thing to do is let me die._

'I can't live with that.'

_If you don't you won't be alive anyway. You can't fight - not this time. It's over. All that's left to do is run and hide. _

'That's not even the problem anymore, is it?' he croaked, still staring at the featureless door. 'Look at how many people it slaughtered in ten minutes ... Entire families ... It might only have a few months left but it could kill entire planets in that time. I'd be leaving the Universe to a slaughter if I ran away.'

_Then what's more important, the ones you love or the Universe?_

'I've made that decision before.'

_I know._

'I don't want to make that decision again.'

_I know._

'Why can't it be both? Why can't the Universe include them?' he said, his voice breaking slightly. 'Why is it always one or the other?'

_It doesn't have to be._

'Then what do I do?'

_You're the Doctor, and everyone's sick. Heal them._

* * *

'How'd it go?' Jack asked Leah as she entered the living room in a skip, beaming from ear to ear.

'I don't have it!' she said happily.

Jack knew otherwise, but didn't let his smile slip. 'Great news, where's Dad?'

'Said he'd be here in a minute,' she said, jumping up to sit on the sofa next to him. 'What are we gonna do after we get back?'

Jack shrugged. 'Wish I knew. Dad'll tell us. He'll probably strut in here with some plan like a commander in the army, give us all something impossible to do then disappear.'

Leah giggled. 'Does that mean we're soldiers?'

Jack grinned. 'Yeah, that's exactly what we are. Though not shooting soldiers. Just fighting in our own way. The Doctor's Army. He's in charge, so just take his orders and do it.'

'Okay,' Leah said.

'Yeah,' Theo agreed.

On cue, the Doctor walked into the living room with a visually renewed vigour. They all looked up on his entrance.

'Sir!' Jack shouted, jumping to his feet. Leah followed suit, as did Theo.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the three, now standing up. 'Right, we've got some work to do, so …'

'Present company, attention!' Jack yelled, straightening up with a snap salute. Leah and Theo copied him, giggling all the way.

'Um, what are you doing?' the Doctor asked seriously.

'Awaiting orders, sir!' Jack yelled as Leah and Theo giggled some more.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'All right, I'll be taking us back to Torchwood now. Once we arrive, we'll all say hello and be polite.'

'Company will say hello and be polite,_ sir!'_ Jack confirmed, blasting out the "sir" overzealously.

The Doctor clearly tried to ignore him. 'And then we go to action stations ...'

'What actions are we taking? Sir!'

Leah and Theo giggled again.

'Um, can you stop doing that?' the Doctor asked, baffled.

Leah and Theo were nearly uncontrollable with their laughter now. The Doctor looked at them both enjoying themselves, and rapidly decided Jack's new game for the kids was one that made them smile.

'Okay, okay, I give in. Stand at ease!' the Time Lord ordered.

Jack dropped his salute and took the appropriate posture. Leah and Theo followed his lead again. Theo was nearly crying with laughter.

'Right men … and children,' the Doctor began, affecting his poshest English accent and pacing up and down in front of them. 'Here we stand in darkness absolute, teetering on the cliff edge above an infinite chasm. Between us and the other side is a single path we've managed to carve ourselves, but it's not the sturdy one we wanted. It's steep, thin, and slicked with mud. And it's a long way down.'

Good start, he thought, as he spun on his heel and walked back across them.

'We can't fix the path, but we can put in some safety rails, and it's going to need us all to band together to forge that metal and get it into shape. You, Leah, with your books and your planning, you Theo, with your frankly worrying energy, and you Jack, with …' He looked at Jack, and shrugged. 'Well, with whatever you've got.'

Jack smirked.

'This enemy we stand against seems like a mighty tower, but it stands alone. It may have allies, it may have powers, but it doesn't have love, it doesn't have loyalty, and it doesn't have friends. We do. We've got all of those in spades, because we've got each other. And that's what's going to make the difference. Just remember that we're doing this not only for Mum, not only for ourselves and our friends, but for the entire Universe. This disease will destroy the lives of innocent people if we let it. And we won't let it.'

He paused, clicking his tongue. He'd run out of things to say, but he really needed some sort of rousing ending.

'So, err, in conclusion, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters. All for one and one for all ... We will not go quietly into the night …! Give thanks to Leonidas and the brave 300! For I am William Wallace ... they may take our lives, but they'll never take ... our_ freedom!'_

Silence fell as his impromptu speech ended and all three stared at him.

'How was that?' the Doctor asked after a pause that had been slightly too long.

'Started off well, end needs a bit of work,' Jack offered.

The Doctor grinned as his children laughed. 'Right. You've each got a mission. Captain!' He stepped up to the immortal.

'Yes, sir!' Jack shouted, saluting again.

'Need you to call ahead to Martha, tell her to get all of her test drugs ready and I'll make myself available for her after we land. Once we do, lock down Torchwood, then find me.'

'Sir, yes sir!' Jack yelled.

The Doctor side-stepped to Leah.

'Sergeant Leah, I'll need you to gather everyone together and tell them about my arm and Millennia. Your special mission, should you choose to accept it, is to keep your gran sufficiently distracted for as long as possible.'

'Sir, yes sir!' the little girl said happily.

He side-stepped once more to Theo.

'Corporal Theo, I'll need you to provide support for the Sergeant on her mission. Carry out any orders given and stay close.'

'Yeh yeh sir sir!'

'Company, dismissed! Leah, with me.'

He led the girl out into the corridor and to the console room. He set the route for Torchwood, and paused just short of starting the trip to turn back to her.

'I think it's better for us if I temporarily shut off the bond,' he said quietly.

Leah's face fell. 'Oh. Why?'

'It'll just make it a bit harder for the disease to transmit to you,' the Doctor explained. In truth, he was vaguely hoping that removing the bond might slow down the progression of the disease, but he knew it was wishful thinking. He might confuse the disease temporarily, but the seed had already been planted in her brain. She was a ticking time bomb.

'Won't that feel weird?' she asked.

'It'll feel a bit odd but you'll get used to it,' he assured her. 'Shall we do it?'

'... Okay,' she said. He knelt down to her and rested his fingers on her temples, and for the first time since the day she was born, he purposely severed his telepathic connection with her.

They both felt it leave. It felt like someone close to them had died.

'Daddy?' she asked, sounding a little lost and looking very confused. 'You … don't look right anymore.'

'I know,' he said, feeling it too. He hugged her, but it felt strangely cold. 'As soon as we're done I'll put it back.'

She nodded.

'Right, Torchwood!' he announced, jumping up to pull the lever to commence flight.

* * *

'I _told_ you to keep your _bloody_ phone on!' was the first thing Jackie yelled on sight of the Doctor as he stepped out of the TARDIS into Torchwood to meet the gathered crowd. 'What part of that didn't you understand!?'

'Err …' the Doctor began with no excuse leaping to mind. But it didn't matter anyway, as Leah stepped out of the TARDIS behind him and Jackie turned on a penny.

'Oh, hello Leah sweetheart,' she purred, smiling widely at the little girl.

'Hi granny!' Leah said happily, and ran to get a hug.

Theo came out with Jack and looked keenly around at the gathering crowd. 'Hi hi!' the boy said and followed Leah to get a hug from his gran as well. He was a million miles away from the tiny terrified boy who'd left Torchwood.

'Kiki!' Jack said happily as the little girl ran up to hug him.

'Where's Martha?' the Doctor asked.

Right on cue, she stepped out of the transmat from the London Torchwood holding a bag. 'Hello strangers!' she greeted them, and her eyes moved down to his arm. Most of it was obscured by his sleeve, but the shining silver metal running up the back of his hand to the tips of his fingers was eye catching. 'Is that …?'

'Yep,' the Doctor confirmed, and waved using the exotronic. He pulled down his sleeve as far as it would go to expose that it went further down his arm.

'It works?' Ianto asked.

'Yep.'

'What is it exactly?' Mickey asked.

'Leah,' the Doctor prompted the girl. She beamed at the crowd.

'This way for the story!' she ordered all of the humans, and skipped into a meeting room. Everyone else - slightly bemused - followed, leaving only the Doctor, Jack, and Martha.

'See you in a bit,' Jack said, and disappeared to lock down Torchwood.

'Shall we?' the Doctor offered Martha, nodding to the medical room.

* * *

The Doctor filled Martha in on all the details as he rooted through the tens of drugs she'd brought with her, separating the ones he knew wouldn't work from the ones that had a chance. By the time she was caught up on what had happened he'd rattled it down to one particular drug.

'Right, this looks like the best bet,' the Doctor said, holding up the small glass bottle filled with clear liquid, gazing intently at it for a moment before his eyes snapped to her. 'Injection?' he supposed.

She nodded. 'Are you sure you want to do this? Unit quite literally threw these together, we've got no idea how this is going to act.'

'Positive,' he said. 'Don't worry, nothing in this will kill me.'

'But combined?' Martha pointed out.

'I really don't know. Just monitor me,' the Doctor said, filling a syringe with the drug, tapping the end, pushing out the excess air and handing it carefully to her. 'About five milliliters should do it.'

She looked apprehensive, but any further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Jack, who closed the door behind him. 'Lockdown's done. Hey kids,' he greeted, grinning, before he noticed the syringe. 'Is that it?'

'Hopefully,' the Doctor said.

'Brought these,' Jack said, holding up an assortment of trousers belts. 'Thought we might need 'em.'

'Good thinking,' the Doctor said as he pulled off his jacket, loosened his tie, and unpicked his feet from his converse. 'Is your gun loaded?'

'Yeah,' Jack confirmed. 'Right, get comfortable and I'll strap you in.'

'What the hell are you two doing?' Martha asked, bewildered, as the Doctor jumped onto the bed, rolled up his right sleeve and positioned himself in a very deliberately spread eagled posture.

'He might be a bit violent if it gets through again,' Jack explained to her, strapping the Doctor to the side rails with the belts - one on each forearm, one on each calf, and a final interlocking double belt to pin down his waist.

Once he was secure, Jack stepped back and pulled out his gun. 'Okay, we're good. Martha.'

Martha, deciding just to follow their lead, obligingly stepped forward. The Doctor dutifully pumped his hand to expose his veins, and after cleaning and prepping, Martha administered the dose.

'How long will it take?' Jack wondered, as Martha pulled the needle out and covered the injection site.

'We don't know,' Martha said, looking at the Doctor. 'How are you feeling?'

'About the same,' he said.

She got rid of the needle and linked him up to the nearby monitors. His heartsrate was normal so far.

'If you can't dream at all, won't that affect you?' Martha wondered.

'What d'you mean?' the Doctor asked.

'You won't be able to process all of the stimuli you've had over the day,' Martha explained. 'Or does it work differently for you?'

'Gallifreyans, as a rule, don't tend to dream, I do,' the Doctor said. 'Our brains don't work like that - we don't actually physically need to dream, it just happens for me every now and then. The amount of human in the kids might come into play but I'll keep an eye.'

'Hey, I just thought, what about Alex?' Jack asked. 'He's connected to you.'

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but within the space of three seconds his eyes defocused, his eyelids fluttered shut, and he was immediately asleep.

'Wow,' Jack muttered, staring at the Time Lord. 'That was quick.'

Martha checked the monitors. 'Still steady,' she said. 'Might be a while until we hit the first potential REM phase.'

Jack nodded. 'I'll stay here, tell Leah we're testing the drugs and to wait.'

Martha nodded. 'What if she wants to sleep?'

'She can't, but she can't know why, or Theo,' Jack said. 'I dunno, tell her we might need her. She'll like that.'

Martha smiled a little, and disappeared. Jack pulled up a chair, sat himself down beside the Doctor's bed, and waited.


	17. Your Worst Nightmare

**A/N: **All basically done ... two more chapters after this :D Stay well.

Incase you're not entirely sure what happened to Brax, I refer you to the end of The Ten Keys of the Moirai. You know, that bit when all the crap hits the fan?

* * *

Chapter 17: Your Worst Nightmare

Jack was almost falling asleep himself when, thirty minutes later, and the Doctor's brainwaves suddenly changed to indicate he'd entered an REM phase. Jack's heart sank at the sight.

'No, no,' Jack murmured as he got up to place his hands on the Doctor's shoulders, shaking him. 'Doctor. Doctor! Wake up!'

'What's happening?' Martha asked quickly, jogging across the room.

'He's in REM, he's dreaming,' Jack said anxiously, shaking the Doctor some more. He was completely limp. 'We've gotta wake him up.'

Martha checked all of the monitors. 'His vitals are still steady.'

Jack continued to shake him, but it wasn't doing anything. 'Sorry Doc,' he said sincerely, and slapped the Time Lord across the face with quite some force. Not even a flicker of his eyelids.

'The drug's sunk him too low,' Martha said, and pressed her fingers to the pulse point on the Doctor's neck. 'We're gonna have to ride this one out, Jack.'

Jack finally relented to the situation, stepping back. He checked his gun was ready, and pointed it directly at the Doctor's head, waiting to be surprised.

* * *

_The Doctor was lying on his back on a hard surface, with the calm sounds of a sea lapping against a shore. He opened his eyes, and looked straight up at the night sky gleaming above him - numerous stars and planets littered the view, with shooting stars and a few glowing nebulas throbbing from a million miles away. Almost immediately, he spotted the two planets Rose had named, as though he was drawn to them. Planets Rose and Theta. Although - and it wasn't particularly logical - he swore both of their lights were duller than before._

_He then remembered where he was. He was inside Rose's dream, in the Lanwa's network. The second he'd thought it someone loomed over him, blocking out the sight of planets Rose and Theta entirely._

_'Back so soon?' the familiar voice of the Master asked. 'What exactly are you doing here? I thought you were off to save the universe or something like that?'_

_The Doctor sighed, pushing himself to stand up. 'I shouldn't be here. If I'm here it means it's taken me over again.'_

_'You're telling me,' the Master replied, rolling his eyes. 'Don't tell me you were stupid enough to go to sleep knowing what might happen?'_

_'It knows if it tries to take me again, Jack will kill me. It knows that. Why __…__'__ He stopped himself, realising. __'__Oh.__'_

_'Oh?'_

_'I'm asleep and in REM, and it's just using this opportunity to get inside my head and find out what I'm doing. It'll let me go once it's got what it needs. But __…__ that means the anti-dream drug hasn__'__t worked.__'_

_'Anti-dream drug?' the Master echoed, amused. _

_'Why's that funny?' the Doctor wondered._

_'I was doing the exact same thing before it took me over.'_

_The Doctor's brow furrowed. 'Wait, you don't dream. How exactly did it take you over?'_

_'It gave me nightmares.'_

_'Did you get anywhere with stopping them?'_

_'Absolutely nowhere,' the Master replied. 'Nothing worked. I eventually passed out, arrived here, and never woke up. I'd watch out, if I were you. Right now it's wandering around in my body somewhere and has been for quite a while.'_

_'Any idea what it's doing? Can you see or feel anything?'_

_'Nope.'_

_'Your body can sustain it too, why isn't that enough for it?' the Doctor wondered._

_'Do some maths, Doctor. You've got more regenerations left than I have. Of course it's not going to be interested in me. You're the only living person in the universe that can sustain it physically, regenerate a few times, and time travel with a bonded Tardis. You're a real one-of-a-kind. The Chosen One. And rest assured I'm physically throwing up in my mouth saying that.'_

_'Any ideas about the anti-dream drug?'_

_'I had two months to find something. I didn't even come close. I'd go as far as to say it can't possibly be created.'_

_The Doctor's hearts sank. If the Master - an expert in this area - said it couldn't be created, then that didn't give him, Martha, and UNIT very good odds. 'You should've found me once you knew it was taking you over.'_

_The Master snorted with laughter. 'After what I did to you in the Proclamation and you cutting me off afterwards? You gotta be kidding.'_

_The Doctor frowned momentarily. 'Wait, where are you in your timeline?'_

_'I just dropped a baby on your doorstep and you came to yell at me. Where are you?'_

_'About three years ahead of you,' the Doctor replied, as he realised the Master hadn't even been through the fall of the Shadow Proclamation yet. _

_'Oo, three years. Is it fun?'_

_The Doctor ignored that. 'You don't even care, do you? You don't care about that baby and what happened to her. You haven't asked.'_

_The Master laughed again. 'What a stupid question. Of course I don't. So what's the amazing plan that's going to save us all, Doctor?'_

_The Doctor suppressed the annoyance he could feel building inside him. 'We know where the cure is. We just need to modify the Tardis and go.'_

_'You honestly think you can do that with just you, a couple of halfling runts and a bunch of stupid humans?'_

_'Millennia's here to help.'_

_The Master raised his eyebrows. 'I thought I misheard last time. You've honestly found Millennia?'_

_'Yes.'_

_'Oh, bet that's a bit difficult to cope with,' the Master mused. 'You always quite liked Millennia, didn't you? I bet you still fancy her.'_

_The Doctor ignored him. 'She's going to help with the modifications, then we're going to Tuvala.'_

_'Tuvala? Wow. I went there once.'_

_The Doctor looked at him. 'What happened?'_

_'Can't really remember,' the Master admitted, shrugging slightly. 'If I really think about it, I'm not sure I ever completely left.'_

_'What's that supposed to mean?'_

_The Master smirked. 'That place will tear you and your buddies apart, Doctor. Give it up and accept it. You're the bullseye for this disease, and if you keep going to sleep like this it's going to eventually find a window to take you over without Handsome Jack around, and you and me will be stuck here together forever. There's really only one way of stopping it.'_

_'And what's that?'_

_'Don't go to sleep.'_

_Without any indication of a transition or movement, the Master disappeared from in front of him and the Doctor found himself in the room he'd had on Pleaneas, lying on the bed. He looked up, and saw the Lanwa standing at the foot of the bed, gazing at him with a chilling smile._

_'Hello, my love,' she said. 'Welcome to your worst nightmare.'_

* * *

Martha was closely watching the monitors when suddenly everything went absolutely haywire. The monitor measuring the Doctor's hearts jumped from a steady 100 BPM to 200 BPM, his brainwave frequency launched from 5 Hertz to 95 Hertz, and his blood sugar spiked. 'What!?' she gasped.

'What's happening?' Jack asked, not moving his eyes or gun off of the Doctor.

'He's jumped from delta dream waves to gamma - it's like he's awake and he's panicking …'

'It's got him,' Jack concluded. 'Martha wake him up.'

'How!?'

'I don't know, there's gotta be some kinda medication we can give him, just give him a jolt ...'

'But according to this he's already awake!'

'Well, he sure as hell isn't so we've gotta get him out,' Jack said quickly. 'Find something - anything.'

Martha darted to one of the storage cabinets to try and find something useful, just as the Doctor spoke weakly. His words were merged and quiet, but they could understand him perfectly:

'Let me go.'

* * *

_'Aww, don't you wanna play?' the Lanwa asked in a singsong voice._

_He tried to move, but realised his arms, legs, and waist were strapped to the bed by the belts Jack had put on him._

_The Lanwa laughed at his realisation. 'Looks like your brain's workin' against you,' she said. 'Tied down in real life means it's tied you here too.'_

_The Doctor pulled desperately with his left arm against the strap, but his exotronic didn't seem to be working in his nightmare. It was dead. 'Jack, untie me, please, I can't move!' he shouted, hoping desperately there was something coming out of his mouth in the conscious world._

* * *

'Jack ... untie me, please ... can't move …' the Doctor suddenly moaned.

'Get everything off of him!' Jack ordered Martha. She ran back, bringing a bag of new drugs with her, which she left next to the bed before diving to undo the straps on the Doctor's legs.

* * *

_His right arm pinged free, shortly followed by his waist, but his legs didn't shift._

_'Jack! Martha! Legs!' he cried out as the Lanwa continued to walk, very casually, towards him._

* * *

'They won't come undone!' Martha shouted, pulling desperately on the belts.

Jack jumped to help, but realised very quickly that they were so tight they'd need to be cut off. 'Something sharp!' he ordered Martha.

* * *

_His legs were still stuck, and now the Lanwa was next to him. He raised his one working arm, trying to defend himself._

_'Oh, they can hear you? That's interesting,' the Lanwa mused._

_'Jack!' the Doctor screamed, before finally his legs were freed. He leapt up and placed the bed between him and the Lanwa. 'Stay back!'_

* * *

'Stay back …' the Doctor moaned.

'We've gotta wake him up …' Jack persisted, wide-eyed. 'Martha, there's gotta be something!'

'I don't know what to give him!'

'Adrenaline! What about adrenaline? Could that wake him up?'

'He's already through the roof on adrenaline …'

'Then what about the opposite? Can we put him into a deeper sleep?'

'We're really messing with his system here, we could seriously hurt him!'

Jack groaned in frustration, trying desperately to think of an alternative. He saw the knife they'd used to cut his bonds, and he grabbed it. He opened the Doctor's right hand and placed the knife in it. 'Doc, can you use it!?'

* * *

_Now being backed into a wall, the Doctor realised suddenly he was holding a knife. _

_'I've got it!' he yelled to Jack and Martha._

_'You think that's gonna help?' the Lanwa asked. The Doctor's hand suddenly threw itself back, slamming into the wall. He dropped the knife immediately, crying out, before once again some sort of powerful force seemed to grab hold of his whole body, shaking, stretching and crushing every single atom inside._

* * *

'It's too powerful …' the Doctor gasped. 'Help me …'

'How!?' Jack cried, his eyes focused hard on the Doctor, who was now having some sort of seizure. Seconds later, the Doctor screamed, his entire back arched with the veins and arteries bulging in his neck before he collapsed again and resumed the seizure-like movements.

'C-control, need, c-control …' the Doctor's rattled out.

'He's not got any control over his limbs,' Jack realised.

'We'll stop the seizure!' Martha decided, jumping back to the storage and rooting around for benzodiazepine. 'We can give him some muscle relaxant!'

'Quick!'

She found it and ran back. 'Jack, hold his arm!'

Jack obliged, pinning down the flailing right arm so Martha could give the Doctor the shot. It acted fast, as rapidly the spasms and posturing of the Doctor reduced, and then fell away to nothing.

There was a pause.

'Jack, Martha … what have you done …?' the Doctor moaned.

* * *

_The Lanwa relented its attack as the Doctor collapsed. He tried to get up, but all of his muscles seemed to have completely deadened. He couldn't move._

_'Jack, Martha, what have you done!?' the Doctor moaned._

_The Lanwa sauntered towards him. 'Oh no. Is the Doctor a little bit helpless, now?' _

_'Please stop,' the Doctor gasped, lying on the floor._

_'But you're so fun.'_

_'You can't take me over,' he moaned._

_'No,' the Lanwa admitted, shrugging, 'but I can do this.'_

_She reached him, kneeling down next to his defenceless body. She rolled him onto his back, and picked up the knife he'd dropped. She placed the point of the knife on the side of his face, inches from his eyeballs. _

_She pressed down, and began to draw it directly across his eyes._

* * *

'No, no, get off!' the Doctor yelled, his eyes shooting open to meet an extremely blurred and out-of-focus real world. 'Get off!'

'Doc, you're okay!' he heard Jack shout from his right. 'You're awake, you're in Torchwood!'

'You're with us!' Martha said.

The Doctor panted, trying desperately to calm down. He still couldn't move, with his eyes searching the room frantically. His vision wasn't improving at all. 'No no no …' he moaned.

'What? What's happened?' Martha's voice asked quickly as a someone-shaped blob appeared above him on his left.

'My eyes,' he said quickly. 'Can't see.'

'Let me look at you,' Martha said. He saw the big blob move closer to him - she was a little more in focus and he could tell it was Martha now, but he still couldn't make out any details. 'They look normal,' she said. 'What can you see?'

'Everything's blurred.'

'I'm going to shine a light in your eyes, hold on,' Martha said, and the Doctor registered the vague shine of a light.

'What's happened?' Jack asked.

'Can't see anything obvious,' Martha said, and he felt the pressure of a hand covering his left eye. Everything immediately turned dark. 'What can you see?' Martha asked.

'Nothing.'

She switched to cover the other eye. 'And now?'

He blinked a few times, trying to focus, but it didn't work. 'Big blurs.'

'Can you operate the Tardis scanner?'

'Yeah.'

* * *

His muscles were slowly coming back to life, but his vision hadn't improved whatsoever as Jack carried him to the infirmary. He had very little sense of where they were, just vaguely aware of being taken through the TARDIS. He couldn't even tell when they'd reached the infirmary.

'Where do you wanna be?' Jack asked.

'In the scanner,' the Time Lord replied.

Jack took him there, closely followed by an anxious Martha. Jack helped him sit on the scanner bed, and carefully guided him to lie down.

'You're in,' Jack said.

'Thanks. Voice mode activated,' the Doctor said in gallifreyan.

_'Voice mode activated,' _a female voice replied in gallifreyan.

'Complete optical scan, please.'

_'Confirm ID profile.'_

'ID 1-78, registered passenger number one,' the Doctor replied.

_'Scan initiated.'_

'Just asking it to scan my eyes, won't be a tick,' the Doctor told them in translation, and almost immediately he registered the red flashes of the scanner checking his eyes. It was a tense minute or so before eventually it finished with a high-pitched beep.

_'Scan complete,' _the interface said. _'No problems detected.'_

The Doctor frowned. 'That's not right. What's my visual acuity?'

_'Right eye 10, 100 percent. Left eye 10, 100 percent,' _the TARDIS' system replied.

'Scan again.'

_'Scan initiated.' _The TARDIS obligingly rescanned, which took a few more moments. _'Scan complete. No problems detected.'_

'Okay, thanks,' he said. Confused, the Doctor looked in the vague direction of Jack and Martha's blurs. He could barely tell who was who.

'What's the diagnosis?' Jack asked, moving to help him sit up.

'She says there's nothing wrong with me,' the Doctor said, scratching his head.

'How can that work?' Jack asked, frowning.

'I have no idea,' the Doctor confessed.

'Are you noticing any improvement?' Martha wondered as her blob moved to him.

'It's the same,' the Doctor said.

She tested his eyes in turn again. 'Right eye?'

'Nothing.'

'Left?'

'Really blurry.'

'I don't understand,' Martha said, confused. 'Is this permanent?'

'I don't know.'

'What the hell we gonna do?' Jack asked.

'Try the other drugs,' the Doctor replied without any hesitation.

'Are you mad?' Martha cried.

'We have to,' the Doctor insisted.

'No, you can't,' Jack said suddenly. 'The disease said it was going to do this. Next on the list is dumb. You won't be able to say anything if you go through that again. Then you'll be deaf, then you won't be able to feel anything at all. We can't afford to lose you, Doctor.'

'I can't let this happen to Leah or Theo,' the Doctor insisted. 'Leah's already infected and she's exhausted, it might just take one tiny dream to do this to her. If you've got any suggestions I'm all ears, but I don't know what else to do.'

'There's got to be someone who knows what we can do to stop you all dreaming,' Martha insisted.

'Yep - Brax would,' the Doctor replied.

'I don't suppose …?'

'You'd have more chance of building a snowman in hell than getting anything out of him,' Jack told her.

'What about this Millennia, then?' Martha asked. 'You said she basically built that Panacea … she's gallifreyan too. She must know something.'

'Maybe,' the Doctor said, a little unconvinced.

'Then before you give the disease any more chances you need to talk to her,' Martha decided.


	18. Blind Faith

Chapter 18: Blind Faith

While they were waiting for Millennia to wake up, the Doctor got Jack to gather Theo and Leah in the TARDIS' living area so he could tell them on their own what had happened to him.

It was an excruciating experience. Not just in delivering the facts of the matter, but because he could no longer see the faces of his children, and he didn't know if he could be cured. Now Leah's bond was severed from him, she was just a very distant-feeling blob, and Theo was a slightly smaller distant-feeling blob standing next to her.

'What can you actually see, then?' Leah asked after he'd explained the situation.

'A couple of very beautiful blurs,' he replied, gazing at them.

Leah paused. He couldn't see her face, but he knew she was upset. 'Did the disease do this?' she asked nervously.

'Yeah.'

'It's not gonna get better, is it?'

'I don't know yet.'

'I'm gonna hug you now,' she said, and the blob moved forward. He felt her little arms wrapping around him, and she was shortly joined by Theo's arms too - the both of them cocooning him.

For a long time, silence reigned as the family embraced each other, before they drew back.

'It did this when you were asleep?' Leah asked.

'Yeah.'

'Will this happen to us?'

He avoided giving a direct answer to the question. 'I won't let it get that far.'

'But why won't anyone let me go to sleep?' she asked.

He hesitated for just slightly too long.

'It's cos I've got it, isn't it?' Leah said straight.

He was about to deny it, but he couldn't. He couldn't lie. He couldn't bring himself to. He was too tired, too depressed, and too angry. He loved her and Theo too much. He needed them too much. He just couldn't do it anymore.

_It's okay. _Rose's calm voice said in his head. That gave him a kick.

He looked at the Leah blob. A short pause, and then he nodded.

'You lied again,' Leah stated.

'I know. I'm so sorry. I …'

He trailed off. He was out of both words and excuses.

'Cos you were too upset to,' Leah completed.

'Yeah.'

'It's okay,' she said.

He looked at her vague outline. 'But it's not,' he said quietly.

'I know you were too sad,' she insisted. She seemed remarkably calm by the tone of her voice. 'And I was sad, too, so you didn't wanna make me more sad.'

'No,' he agreed in a croak.

'What do we do?' she asked.

'I'm trying everything I can, _everything,' _he assured them. 'I just need some time. Please, please promise me - both of you - you won't sleep until I can figure something out.'

'Okay,' his children chorused.

'I need to talk with Millennia then I'll decide what to do. I might have to put you both in cryostasis,' the Doctor said.

'What that?' Theo asked.

'He wants to freeze us like lollipops,' Leah told her little brother.

'Nope!' Theo decided immediately. 'Brrr.'

'I don't wanna get frozen,' Leah said, determined. 'I wanna help.'

'I don't have a choice.'

'Then I won't sleep,' Leah said firmly. 'I'll stay awake forever.'

'You can't.'

'Neither can you,' the little girl pointed out.

'I can go for a bit,' he said. 'Not indefinitely.'

'Then teach me how,' Leah whined.

'You're too young.'

'But …'

'Leah!' he snapped sternly, lowering his eyebrows. 'I'm not letting it do to you what it's done to me. I'm _trying_ to find an alternative, but I _will _freeze you if I have to. I'm_ not_ going to lose you. And you're going to do _exactly_ what I say, okay?'

He very rarely put his foot down when it came to her. Rose had so many jokes about him being a complete pushover when it came to Leah. Daleks, Cybermen, evil demi-gods, spiders, ghosts, mummies, werewolves, vampires and the rest - easy. Leah, on the other hand? He couldn't even order her what to get for breakfast.

He'd been expecting a fight about it, but to his complete surprise, Leah relented.

'Okay,' she said. 'I'm sorry, Daddy.'

'No, you've got nothing to be sorry about. _I'm_ sorry for so many things. I just need you to work with me,' he said.

'Okay,' she repeated, and little arms encircled him again.

'Theo?' the Doctor asked. No reply. 'Theo.'

Leah's arms abruptly pulled away and her blob moved to the sofa. 'Theo, no!'

'What's happened!?'

'He's asleep!'

The Doctor immediately tensed, his hearts seizing up. 'No … wake him up ...!' he ordered her, using the chair to push himself up and blindly feel his way towards the sofa where his boy was lying.

'Theo, wake up!' Leah demanded. 'Daddy, I'm shaking him, but he won't …'

'Leah… !' the tiny boy suddenly moaned. 'Wanna sleep …!'

'He's awake?' the Doctor asked quickly, breathless.

'Yeah, he's awake,' Leah confirmed.

The Doctor sighed with relief. 'Theo what did you _just _agree to about not sleeping?'

'Ah not s'eep I rest eyes,' Theo insisted.

The Doctor felt his way forward to rest a hand on each of them. 'I know you're both tired but please give me some time. I'll find a way.'

'Just do your thing, Daddy, and I'll watch him,' Leah said.

The Doctor nodded, smiling appreciatively. 'Thank you. Can you take me to the infirmary?'

'Yeah,' she said, slipping her hand into his. 'C'mon, Theo!'

* * *

Jack retrieved Millennia from the Zero Room and met them in the infirmary, before everyone left the two gallifreyans together. The Doctor initiated the tests entirely through voice command, and then explained to Millennia the situation.

'I'm really sorry,' Millennia said solemnly as they waited for the results of her scan. 'I've had a few cases of Lanwa endopyscholysis come through Panacea but I've never seen it so aggressive. This is mad.'

'It's developed a consciousness,' the Doctor told her.

'Are you saying it's self-aware?'

'Yes, I've spoken to it. It's actively pursuing me.'

'And you say it blinded you while you were in a nightmare?'

'Yes. It cut through my eyes with a knife. Any ideas on how to improve my vision?'

'Not sure, I need to know the damage. Tardis, can I have a printout of his ophthalmic analysis?' she asked the TARDIS.

'Processing,' the computer replied, and half a second later the Doctor heard high-pitched printing, and the rustle of paper as Millennia took it and read it.

'Oh. No damage detected. How does that work?'

'No idea. Any thoughts?' the Doctor asked.

She thought for a moment. 'I wonder if it's because there's no actual physical or telepathic damage to you?'

'What are you thinking?'

'Maybe … it's psychosomatic?' she suggested.

'You mean I've done this to myself? It attacked my eyes so my brain thinks I'm now blind?'

'I'm not completely sure. Has anything like this happened before?'

The Doctor mused. 'When Rose had a nightmare she was being choked, she was so convinced she had been and something had crushed her neck that when she woke up I had to scan her. There was nothing there.'

'Hmm. Sounds as if the disease is playing on the opposite to a placebo - the nocebo effect. This could be a good thing, though.'

'How so?'

'Well, you're not actually physically damaged, the Lanwa seems to have made it so it's all inside your head. You can't see because of what it did to you in the nightmare. So, in theory, once we get rid of the disease, you should get your vision back.'

'I must be able to fix myself if it's psychosomatic,' the Doctor reasoned.

'I doubt it,' Millennia said. 'It's probably not you doing it. The disease is seeded inside your head. It's made that decision for you.'

'But I can't stay blind until we get the cure.'

'I don't think we get a choice,' Millennia replied solemnly. 'Because there's no physical damage there's nothing that can help you. It'll just come back with regeneration, drugs will have nothing to cure, and visual aids can't make your physical vision any more perfect than it already is. The block is inside your head.'

'So I'm stuck like this.'

'I think so. Sorry.'

The Doctor took a deep breath as his temporary diagnosis suddenly became a lot more permanent. He was now blind and would probably remain that way until they got the cure from Tuvala. _If _they got the cure from Tuvala.

He'd now have to navigate his way through one of the most dangerous places in known space without being able to see anything.

As if it wasn't difficult enough.

'Are you okay?' Millennia asked after a moment.

He refocused on her blur, snapping out of his thought trail and switching to an immediate fountain of positivity. 'Yep! Fine. Tardis, how's the scan looking?'

_'Analysis of guest passenger now complete,' _the TARDIS replied. _'Would you like the full breakdown analysis?' _

'Just the summary, please.'

_'Complete harmonisation of consciousness with body, treatment 100 percent successful,'_ the TARDIS said._ 'Body and mind are 100 percent healthy. No further action required.'_

'Thanks,' the Doctor said. 'Right, you're fine,' he concluded, smiling at her.

'Thank you for all your help,' Millennia said.

'No problem,' he said chirpily, and attempted to move to her. He tried to feel his way forward, but unwittingly put his hand on a portable trolley full of medical instruments, which promptly tipped and crashed to the floor in a crescendo of metal. Before he could trip up and make even more of an idiot of himself, Millennia jumped forward to support him.

'Steady,' she said quickly.

'Sorry,' he said, slightly bewildered at what had just happened.

'Why on Gallifrey are you apologising, Nei'Veeto?' she said. 'Sit down for a second, let me have a proper look.' She guided him to sit down in a nearby chair, and leant in to examine his eyes. She was close enough for him to make out the vague shape of her face, but he couldn't see her expression.

She pulled apart his eyelids gently. 'Look up … Look down … Side to side … yes, they look normal. Any pain?'

'A bit, but don't worry, it's okay,' the Doctor dismissed.

'If we can shield you it might help,' Millennia mused. 'We need some sort of dark shield over your eyes.'

'Sunglasses?' the Doctor posited.

'Um, what are they?'

He grinned. 'Human thing, but it's what you're describing.' He reached into his pockets, feeling for his glasses and sonic screwdriver. Using touch only, he sonicked the glasses to change their tint. 'Why would this work?' he wondered.

'It'll physically reduce the light coming into your actual eyes. You're probably subconsciously trying to focus harder and it's straining your eyes, so it should help a lot to relax you.'

He nodded, and slipped the sunglasses on. The little vision he'd had abruptly dulled.

'That should start helping the strain within ten minutes or so,' she said. 'Right, now for your main problem. You and the tots need to stop dreaming, don't you?'

He nodded. 'Yes.'

'Have you tried sleeping in the Zero Room in a healing coma? You wouldn't be _actually _sleeping, but that should recharge you as if you were. It should work on the tots, too, so long as they can get into healing comas.'

'I thought about that, but we can't do it. I'd need to do telepathy to help them get into healing comas, they're too young to trigger it themselves. I'm so riddled with the disease I'd be opening a door for it to both of them,' the Doctor pointed out.

'I could do it for you. If Leah's only marginally affected it won't reach me from her.'

He frowned. 'You could?'

'Yes, I've done it before,' she said.

'But you … weren't around long enough to get to that class.'

'I learnt from Rallon while we were all at Prydon Academy,' Millennia replied. 'I know, dangerous, but we did do it.'

He paused, horrified, as he realised that everything he'd been through in the past hour had been _completely _unnecessary.

_Why didn't you stop me?_ He internally asked his subconscious. It said nothing.

'What is it?' Millennia asked.

He refocused again. 'Nothing. Right, we'll do that, then. Let's introduce you to the team.'

* * *

Jack had collected everyone in Torchwood to await the arrival of the Doctor and Millennia. As they waited, Jack explained what had happened.

'So he's completely blind?' Jackie asked Jack and Martha, wide-eyed.

'Not completely, he's got some vision in his left eye but it's extremely limited,' Martha explained. 'He's talking with Millennia now to see if she can do anything for him.'

'How's he going to go to this Tuvala place if he can't see anything?' Seth wondered.

'Yeah, he won't be able to pilot the Tardis,' Mickey agreed.

'I can! Kinda,' Leah piped up.

'We don't know how it's gonna work yet,' Jack said swiftly before anyone could agree that Leah should go to Tuvala. 'Hopefully Millennia can do something and it'll be okay. If not, we'll rethink.'

The TARDIS door suddenly creaked open, and they all looked up to see a new blue-haired woman emerging from the entrance holding the arm of the Doctor, who was wearing sunglasses and holding a stick. He was taking extremely timid steps with his stick hitting around to try and build a picture for himself as to what was in front of him - every stride feeling out what was below his foot before he committed.

Clearly Millennia hadn't been able to help him. They all watched as he crept cautiously over to them, their hearts simultaneously sinking.

'Step,' Millennia warned the Time Lord in gallifreyan as they neared the group. It was almost painful watching him try to navigate the tiny drop, but eventually Millennia managed to get him to Jack, who helped him into the closest chair.

'Is everyone here?' the Doctor asked once he was settled, his head turning to look around at them all.

'Yeah, we're all here,' Jack confirmed, glancing around at the crowd to check no one had sneaked off.

'Good. Right. Basically, I'll cut to the chase - I'm blind and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it,' the Doctor summarised. 'I'm going to stay this way until we find the cure.'

Jack swore under his breath. 'There's gotta be something.'

'Nothing,' the Doctor said. 'Sorry. But we've found a way to stop us dreaming and this from ever happening again. Leah? Theo? Where are you?' he asked, his head looking back and forth.

'We're over here,' Leah said.

He turned his head in their direction. 'After this you'll be going into healing comas in the Zero Room, it's a kind of recharge that replaces sleep so there's absolutely no chance of us dreaming. You two are doing it for eight hours, then you'll be lively enough for three days before you have to do it again. Okay?'

'Okay,' Leah and Theo confirmed together.

'Kiana?' the Doctor asked.

'Here,' the dark-haired little girl said from next to Leah.

'You'll be joining Leah and Theo.'

'Yay!' Leah said happily, and hugged her best friend.

'And everyone, this is Millennia, wherever she's standing,' he said, pointing vaguely around.

'Cheyy?' Millennia suddenly asked, looking at him and hearing her name.

'Millennia, kew'af'ei'klihoa-ia,' he said to her.

'Shii,' she said, and then looked around at them all. 'Haillo,' she said in English in a heavily accented voice. 'I … Millennia.'

'She can't speak English but she'll learn quickly,' he explained to them. 'Can you introduce yourselves?'

They all obliged, saying their names in turn.

Millennia smiled and bowed politely when they'd gone around the circle. 'Qe'afa'fola'hira'eon.'

'She said it's nice to meet you,' Leah translated for them all eagerly.

'Keep your conversations flowing and she can latch onto English,' the Doctor added.

'Will do,' Jack confirmed, shooting a grin at Millennia and giving a thumbs up.

'Everyone get some sleep, I'll draw up a plan and tomorrow we'll start work on getting to Tuvala,' the Doctor told them. 'And I'm really sorry but I'm going to need more help than I thought.'

'We're all here for you, sweetheart,' Jackie told him.

'I'll get us organised,' Jack said. 'Don't worry about it.'

'Thank you,' the Doctor said appreciatively, and then winced a little. 'Sorry … can someone take me in the vague direction of the toilet?' he asked.

'I will,' Jackie said, standing up. 'Might as well make myself useful.'

'Someone else?' the Doctor wondered, cuing laughter from everyone gathered.

'Oh, get up,' Jackie complained, taking his arm and pulling him upright. 'I ain't gonna hold it for ya. This way.'

Everyone laughed again. They tried not to watch, but collectively couldn't resist as the Doctor inched away with his stick clicking, the two of them arguing.

'Leah,' Millennia suddenly said as the Doctor and Jackie finally disappeared.

'Fii?' Leah asked her.

Millennia said something in gallifreyan in a hushed voice. She and Leah had a short conversation, before the girl nodded and looked up at her Uncle Jack.

'Uncle Jack, Millennia says she needs our help to help Daddy.'

'How?' Jack asked quickly.

'She says the disease is psychosomatic,' Leah translated. 'We can't heal him cos there's nothing to fix - the disease is working with a nocebo effect thing. He's actually fine but the disease is overriding his brain into telling him he's blind.'

'It's all in his head?' Jack summarised.

'Yeah. There's nothing we can do about cos the disease is too powerful but she says we can help by using a placebo to fight the nocebo. He's in pain so Millennia told him wearing sunglasses would help reduce his eye strain so we've all gotta make him believe that and it'll be more effective.'

'Okay,' Martha said, nodding as everyone else concurred. 'Can we do anything about his sight with placebos?'

Leah translated that for Millennia, who shook her head and said something further.

'No, nothing big, but we can help him in little ways. He just can't know about it, it'll make the effect stronger,' Leah translated.

'Got it,' Jack confirmed, giving another thumbs up to Millennia, who smiled. 'I'm gonna make some plans, too,' he announced, turning back to the crowd. 'Martha, you're medical monitoring to check he doesn't deteriorate. Leah and Theo, you do whatever he tells you to do, and Kiana, do whatever I tell you to. I'll get everyone in the right places. Mickey and Seth, I need you to look into adapting this place for the Doctor so he can get around easier, and everyone else maintain Torchwood and our security. Everyone clear?'

They all nodded without a single word of protest.

'Right, get some sleep and we'll start tomorrow.'

* * *

'Ow! Oof! Ah!' the Doctor was intermittently saying to the sound of thunks and clunks from inside the tiny compact Torchwood toilet, which he had been in for at least five minutes now.

'You alright in there, sweetheart?' Jackie asked seriously.

'Fine,' he assured her. 'Just walking into everything.'

'This place really ain't designed for blind people,' she mused, looking around at the multitude of steps and sudden drops that littered the Hub.

'You're telling me,' he said, just before there was another loud clang and the Doctor yelped. 'Is there seriously a _bucket _in the _middle _of the floor, here!?'

Jackie rolled her eyes before a few moments later the toilet flushed.

'You're takin' this really well, y'know,' Jackie said.

'What?'

'If I suddenly went blind I'd be a lot more upset than you are.'

He didn't answer as a few more bumps and thuds rang out before the tap water flow started, then eventually stopped.

'Are you hungry, sweetheart? Do you want a bite to eat?' she wondered.

There was no answer.

'Doctor?' she prompted.

Nothing. That worried her a bit.

'Doctor, if you don't answer I'm comin' in.'

Still nothing. Slowly, she pushed the unlocked door open and found him on his knees on the floor of the tiny room, with items strewn all over the lino from everything he'd accidentally knocked over.

'Doctor?' she tried again. 'Looks like a bomb went off in 'ere. What you doin' sittin' there? I thought somethin' had 'appened.'

His head looked up at her, his eyes still shielded by the sunglasses. 'I'm struggling, Jackie,' he muttered.

Her face fell. 'Oh, sweetheart,' she said, kneeling down in front of him. 'Has this ever 'appened before?'

'Never this permanent,' he said.

'I knew you were fakin' all that bravado,' she said, and closed the door so no one could hear them. 'It's okay to be upset, y'know. Goin' blind suddenly is a lot to take in.'

'It's not just that. I miss her, Jackie. I miss her a lot.'

'Me too,' she agreed, leaning in to hug him. 'But I know everyone's gonna be workin' hard to support you to get to this space place to get that cure. It's gonna be fine, sweetheart.'

He let out a soulless laugh into her shoulder. 'I can't even go to the toilet on my own now without wrecking the place.'

'Oi, listen to me,' she said, pulling back and taking off the sunglasses so she could look into his vacant eyes. 'People have had it far worse than you and at least you know you're gonna get better eventually, which is way more than they get. You'll get used to it. It just takes practice. And I'll look after you. I've been a carer before for Rose's granddad, I know how it works. If you need help with food, baths, changin', the lot.'

His eyes widened. 'Jackie …'

'And I ain't doin' it for you, I'm doin' it for her and my grandchildren,' Jackie talked over him. 'She'd want you to be comfortable and tidy, and they need you more than ever, so let me help you. And for god's sake if I've gotta help you get washed and dressed it's nothing I ain't seen before so grow the hell up.'

He sighed. 'Okay,' he said.

'Thank you,' she said. 'Now, did you want some food or not?'

'No, just get me to the Zero Room,' he said.

'Okay,' she confirmed, and took hold of his arm to pull him upright. She put his sunglasses back on and returned his stick, before she smoothed down the creases in his jacket, checked he was presentable, and led him by his arm back to the TARDIS.


	19. Hindsight

**A/N: **Last one!

* * *

Chapter 19: Hindsight

Millennia sank the kids into healing comas. The Doctor checked they were all fine, before he made up a permanent room for Millennia and she retreated to relax. Jackie took a room in the TARDIS too, and soon everyone else had filtered away for the night.

'Ready to get started,' Jack said as he walked into the TARDIS console room, only to find the Doctor standing there in silence, his head dropped with his eyes closed and sunglasses off, and one hand resting on the rotor - clearly concentrating solely on the sounds and vibrations of the TARDIS. Jack fell silent, just watching him do it, until the Time Lord finally spoke:

'I've made a huge mistake, Jack.'

'What?'

'I did this to myself,' he told him, gesturing to his eyes. 'If I'd just waited for Millennia this would never have happened.'

'Yeah, hindsight's a beautiful thing, excuse the pun,' Jack said, and moved to him. 'But we can't change a damn thing now so forget it.'

'It's not just that,' he said. 'I've just made it a whole load more difficult for myself. I keep making stupid decisions. Rose usually stops me. I didn't think about what I was doing. I've managed to become paralysed, blind myself, and get Jinu and hundreds more killed.'

Jack found himself becoming mildly irritated with him. 'Yeah, but you also have living, breathing children, you saved a baby, you've got a working arm, a ton of people wanting to help, you know where a cure is, and you've saved a girl you thought you killed years ago who is _really _gonna help us out. Your only problem is you've given up.'

The Doctor's eyebrows lowered as he finally looked up, dropping his arm. 'What?'

'Everytime you get near you keep pulling yourself back like you're not convinced by your own instincts anymore. I've never seen you like this before and it's really not helpful and it's really not you.'

'But …'

'Look, I get it, I really do. I fully understand Tuvala's gonna be absolute hell, but we're the only ones who can stop a universal pandemic when it eventually works out how to transmit through air. Yeah, it's dangerous, but so was walking into the Dalek Crucible and everything else we've done together. And just because Rose ain't here it doesn't make doing this impossible.'

The Doctor said nothing, just staring at him. He then looked away, a little awkward.

'I think you just need to regroup,' Jack said. 'So what do you want to do? What do you _need _to do?'

The Doctor thought about that for a moment. 'Outside,' he concluded. 'I want to go outside for a bit.'

Without any hesitation, Jack took his arm and pulled him to the TARDIS doors.

* * *

Jack briefly released the Torchwood lockdown and he led the Doctor out of the tourist shop out into nighttime Cardiff. They didn't go far, just a few steps forward to stand by the rail, looking out over the water, gleaming and sparkling in the nightlight. It was spitting a little bit of rain, and there were some distant sounds of people enjoying a Friday night in the Welsh capital over the sound of the water.

'Can you see anything in this light?' Jack asked.

'Not a thing,' the Doctor replied, looking straight up. 'It's too dark. What does the sky look like?'

Jack looked up. 'It's pretty clear.'

'Can you see Jupiter and Venus?'

Jack scoured the sky, and saw the corresponding lights. 'Yeah. Never been to Venus. Anything interesting there?'

'Venusians, the thraskin, the wispies, a kind of shanghorn, and the klakluk,' the Doctor reeled off. 'Pretty lively, actually. There's a really good tapas bar in the Artemis Chasma.'

Jack laughed. 'Why did you wanna come outside?'

'Rose did it for me once,' the Doctor said, still staring up at the sky. 'After we were imprisoned in the Proclamation. It really helped. Oh, I cried last time, just to warn you.'

Jack laughed. 'I'm not stopping you. Might join you.'

The Doctor grinned. 'Thank you, Jack. For everything. I know I've not been very … easy recently. You're spot on.'

'Hey, don't think I don't understand,' Jack said. 'I get it. You're a bit lost without her.'

The Doctor nodded. 'I'm starting to wonder how on Earth I stayed alive for 900 years without her to tell me when I was being ridiculous. It's like I've lost the ability to think. Rose would've stopped me from doing that. She _always _stopped me. It's entirely my fault I'm blind.'

'To be honest, I'd say it's more mine and Martha's fault, we gave you the anticonvulsant,' Jack pointed out. 'That let it do what it wanted with you in the nightmare.'

The Doctor sighed, shrugging. 'I _really _wasn't going to win anyway. It was overwhelming. I couldn't defend myself at all. Even the knife was useless. Wait. There was a knife, wasn't there?'

'Yeah, I gave it to you in real life.'

'It's like I hover between the waking world and dreamworld simultaneously in a sort of limbo,' the Doctor mused.

'Your brainwaves were acting like you were awake,' Jack informed him.

'Maybe that's what happened last time too, when I thought you and Leah were Rose and a Dalek,' the Doctor reasoned. 'I wasn't hallucinating, I was actually trapped between reality and a nightmare. Not that it means anything at this point, but nice to know.'

Jack laughed and they sank into momentary silence as the Doctor continued to look up.

'You were right,' the Doctor said suddenly. 'Thanks, I needed this.'

'You're welcome.' Jack gazed at him, and an idea bloomed in his head. 'Idea. I'll be back in a minute. Don't fall into the Bristol Channel.'

'Not doing that again,' the Doctor replied with a grin.

Jack smirked, and left back into the Hub.

* * *

The Doctor, left standing on his own, felt out the railings to grip onto as he dropped his head to look in the direction of the water. The spitting rain had stopped now, and without his sight his hearing had increased tenfold. He could hear not only the cars and the wind, but also the extremely distinct sound of a group of girls on a hen night swapping a dirty joke from at least 200 metres away.

He then heard footsteps coming towards him, and they only seemed to be getting louder. He looked up when they were clearly in range, but it was still too dark for him to even make out any kind of blur. He assumed it was someone passing by, but as the footsteps approached and stopped near him, he realised the person was looking at him.

'Hello, Doctor,' a voice said. He recognised it immediately.

'Bac'ou,' the Doctor acknowledged, suddenly feeling a bit vulnerable. He couldn't see anything. He hid it. 'What do you want? I've got much bigger problems than you.'

'I want a peace treaty.'

The Doctor blinked, surprised. 'Are you serious?'

'Yes. I want to help you. Give me Soran.'

The Doctor sighed. 'His name's Theo, and for the millionth time, no. How exactly is that helping me?'

'I can protect him. Your wife won't touch him if he's with me. I'll take the other one if you want me to, as well. I'll look after them both. If by some miracle you manage to kill this thing, once it's dead I'll give back the girl. She's yours.'

'But you'll keep Theo,' the Doctor surmised.

'You can visit, I ain't gonna dispute that,' Bac'ou offered.

'What kind of offer is this?' the Doctor asked in sheer disbelief.

'It's the best offer you're gonna get,' Bac'ou said. 'I've seen exactly what this disease can do. You've got _no _idea. I love that kid way too much to watch him go through what he's about to. I want to save Soran's life because if you don't let me protect him, he's gonna die.'

'I think I'll take the risk,' the Doctor replied shortly. 'And if you had even a modicum of decency in you, you'd help me anyway. You've been instrumental in destroying my life but I'm willing to let that slide, because there's something which is a lot more powerful than both of us that's going to slaughter the entire universe. Work with me.'

'Give me Soran and that'll happen, guaranteed,' Bac'ou said.

'You just don't _get _it, do you?' the Doctor moaned. 'I can't believe this. He's _my _son. What kind of right do you think you have to him?'

'Didn't I look after him?' Bac'ou challenged. 'Wasn't he in perfect health? I didn't let a scratch get on that kid.'

'No, you didn't, but his mental health was horrendous,' the Doctor countered. 'He was scared of his own shadow. I'm not giving him back to you to become that again.'

'I'll do better,' Bac'ou insisted. 'It was just cos he was so young and fragile I was being overly cautious. I'll give him a good life, I swear.'

'You genuinely think this is a possibility don't you?' the Doctor asked, bewildered. 'I'm not going to say yes, _ever_. He's my son, I made him, he's got my hair and my eyes and more besides and I can't understand why you think you have _any _claim on him just because you stole him for three months. Get lost.'

There was a peculiar sound, which the Doctor worked out to be the drawing of a gun.

'Put that down,' the Doctor ordered, just a little bit too late to seem natural.

There was a lingering pause that the Doctor really didn't like, before Bac'ou spoke, 'wait ... you can't see me, can you?'

'What are you talking about?' the Doctor replied to the blackness, now seriously wondering where Jack had gone. 'Put the gun down.'

'The Lanwa's already done the first stage. That was quick. You're blind.' Bac'ou sounded extremely scared. 'Look, I'll beg you here and now. _Please _give me Soran and the other one. I can save them both from her. It's gonna absolutely crush you, don't let it take him too. This is only stage one …'

The unsettled the Doctor. The man who'd ridiculed him and laughed at him as he'd been dying at his hand had now found out he was blind and helpless to him, and he only sounded terrified.

No evil laughing. No declarations of superiority. Just fear.

'No,' the Doctor said firmly.

'Give him to me!' Bac'ou suddenly yelled. The Doctor heard footsteps rushing towards him, but before he could move he was grabbed by the neck and forced back against the railing, his upper half arched back over the water. The gun pressed just enough to hurt into his stomach.

'Give me Soran or I'll shoot!'

'You can't kill me, the Lanwa will kill you,' the Doctor said breathlessly.

'Give! Me! Soran!' Bac'ou screamed.

'Get off of him!' Jack said, finally arriving. To the Doctor's surprise, Bac'ou immediately let go of him.

'I'll get him one way or the other you stupid jai'kl,' Bac'ou swore. 'Just remember I gave you this chance to save him from her!'

There was the sound of him transmatting. The Doctor got his breath back, looking vaguely in Jack's direction. 'Is he gone?'

'Yeah. What the hell did he want?'

'Wanted me to trade Theo for some information, I told him no and he pulled the gun.'

'A gun?' Jack queried.

'Yeah, you know, bang blood death? One of those?' the Doctor reminded him.

'Doctor, he wasn't holding a gun.'

The Doctor frowned, confused. 'Wait. What was sticking into me, then?'

'It was his fingers.'

The Doctor's confusion spiralled. 'What? But I heard something draw.'

'Yeah, his transmat unit,' Jack answered. 'He had a holder for it. You heard him draw that. Then he pressed his fingers into your stomach.'

'So there wasn't a gun.'

'No,' Jack said.

There was a pause.

'Don't worry about it,' Jack said eventually. 'He took advantage.'

'Don't worry?' the Doctor repeated. 'I just mistook someone's fingers for a gun.'

'Nothing happened from it, forget about it.'

The Doctor fell silent as he chewed it over. He could have exposed Torchwood if Bac'ou had tried, all on the threat of some fingers. '... I'm in serious trouble, Jack,' he muttered.

He felt Jack's hand rest on his shoulder. 'Honestly, don't worry. With me.'

'What?'

Jack took his arm, and pulled him out of the night of Cardiff and back into the Hub. The Doctor heard the whoosh of the Hub door locking behind them, and Jack gave him back his stick.

'C'mon,' Jack prompted.

'Where are we going?' the Doctor asked, slipping his sunglasses back on in the sudden change of light.

'Can't take a surprise, can you? This way.'

'Jack, I'm blind, a lot of things are a surprise now,' the Doctor pointed out.

Jack laughed, and the Doctor didn't resist him as they slowly made their way back into the TARDIS. He had absolutely no idea where they were going. Eventually they passed through a door into a very quiet room.

Jack's hands rested on his shoulders again. 'Okay, sit down.'

The Doctor felt out the chair behind him, and with Jack's support he sat down into some sort of soft chair. Jack took a seat next to him, and there was the distinct sound of a cocktail shaker.

'Are you making a martini?' the Doctor asked him seriously.

'Oh, so you can't recognise the sound of a gun being pulled but you know a martini being made?' Jack asked, laughing. 'Hand out, get ready to grip.'

The Doctor obliged, and found himself suddenly holding something cold. He ran his fingers around it, and rapidly deduced from its conical shape and weight that it was a full martini glass.

'Drink up,' Jack invited.

'But …'

'I said drink up.'

The Doctor sighed, but after a few moments, found his mouth with the glass and took a sip. Half a second later, he suddenly heard Jack's voice not from his right, but coming from in front of him through some speakers over the sound of The Turtles playing Happy Together on some stereo system.

_'Some covert spying __…__'_

The Doctor frowned. 'Wait … we're in the cinema.'

'Yeah.'

_'Whoa Martha, you're married to Tom now!'_ screen Jack joked.

'This is Martha and Tom's wedding reception,' the Doctor realised. 'This is …. _years _ago. You've still got the videos?'

'Yeah.'

_'Come on,'_ Rose's voice suddenly said from the speakers. The Doctor's hearts jumped a bit.

_'No,' _he heard his own voice reply.

_'Just five minutes,' _Rose begged.

_'Five minutes too long.'_

'Tell me what's happening,' Jack said.

'I can't remember,' the Doctor replied.

'C'mon,' Jack persisted.

The Doctor pulled a face and closed his eyes, trying to recall it with the help of the sounds he could hear. 'She's trying to get me to dance. I'm in the chair and she's pulling on my arm.'

_'You're so borin','_ Rose complained.

_'I am not!' _his screen-self insisted.

_'Yeah, you are.'_

_'Because I don't want to dance?'_

_'Yeah! C'mon, this is our song,' _Rose persisted.

_'How is this our song?'_

_'The Kronids.'_

_'Technically not, as this song was playing when the Kronids were __…__'_

_'Oh, shut up,'_ she chastised. _'I thought you were more fun than this.'_

_'Fine!' _his screen-self declared.

'I just got up,' the Doctor said, his eyes still closed.

'What does Rose look like?' Jack prompted.

'She's smiling in that tongue-in-her-teeth way she does.'

'What's she doing with you?'

'She's got hold of my hand, pulling me to the middle of the dancefloor. I'm as stiff as a board but she's put her arms around me.'

_'Come on, move,'_ Rose demanded.

'_I'm not a dog_,' the Doctor insisted, and she laughed.

'She's linked her fingers in mine and she's holding them up.'

'And what are you doing?'

'Looking at her like she's mad.'

Jack laughed.

_'You sleep like one,' _Rose said.

_'What?'_

_'It's cute. You know like how dogs run in their sleep? That's what you do.'_

_'Says the snorer.'_

_'I so don't!' _Rose said.

_'It's fine; your nose twitches too like a bunny rabbit so it's quite cute.'_

_'You're so mean,' _she complained, but she was laughing.

_'What?'_ he protested. _'I said you're cute.'_

'She's given up, she's hugging me now.'

_'You're impossible. And you're still not dancin'.'_

_'I'm not much of a dancer in this body.'_

_'You've never tried.'_

_'Don't you remember your birthday?' _

_'That doesn't count.'_

_'I over-spun, fell over and nearly broke the table.'_

_'That was on the Wii and you had an ear infection so you could barely stand up anyway. It doesn't count.'_

_'I'm not dancing.'_

_'Fine.'_

'She's kissing me, now.'

There was a very long pause as the music continued, with him and Rose saying absolutely nothing.

'Wait … she's _still _kissing me?' the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrow.

'Yeah, it's pretty hot,' Jack assured him.

'I don't remember it going on this long.'

_'I love you,'_ his screen self suddenly said, entirely sincerely.

_'I love you too. And I will get my dance.'_

_'Not likely.'_

'Oh, we've just noticed you filming us,' the Doctor realised.

_'How long have you been filmin' us?'_ Rose demanded of Jack.

_'Good few minutes!'_ Jack replied happily.

It went silent as the film ended.

'Twenty-two years,' the Doctor realised.

'What?'

'For me, that was twenty-two years ago. About eight for her. Life before Leah. Can't even remember what that was like.'

Jack laughed. 'I've always wondered, why didn't you wanna dance?'

He shrugged. 'That wasn't who I used to be. I did in the end, though.'

'When?'

'That song … I picked it for our first dance at the wedding. She didn't even notice.'

Jack laughed again. 'You ready for another one?' he asked.

'You've got more?'

'Tons,' Jack confirmed.

'Play them.'

* * *

When the videos and the martinis had run dry, they bashed out a plan together. By the time they were done, everyone was waking up.

Jackie was on the Doctor immediately, snatching him away from the protection of Jack and taking control of getting him ready for the day. Although it was a less than ideal situation to have his mother-in-law run him through the most basic things, he was grateful for the assistance she gave in getting him some food and cleaning up the mess afterwards, enabling him to shave without accidentally cutting himself, and managing to help him get washed with his dignity relatively intact. Eventually he found himself sitting on his bed in his boxers with her piling up some clothes for him.

'Right, I've laid the clothes out in order, you've got your underwear first, socks, then trousers, shirt, tie, and jacket,' Jackie told him, 'so just go from the top to the bottom of the pile. If you need any 'elp I'll be right outside the door, okay, sweetheart?'

'I'll manage,' the Doctor told her. 'Thank you.'

The door closed, and he was suddenly left alone. He knew that eventually he'd learn to be a bit more independent, but for his first full day of being blind, he just wanted to get through it without any problems.

He felt out the pile of clothes on his right, and gripped the first item - his boxers. Slowly and methodically, he began to get dressed.

* * *

'Not bad,' Jackie said as he emerged from his room fully dressed. 'Hold on …'

He let her pull and push his clothes around until she was happy with them, straightening up his tie and pulling his shirt free from creases. A final adjustment of his hair finally cued the finale of his morning routine, which had taken precisely two hours and thirty-two minutes to complete. It was nearly lunchtime.

'Right, we're done,' she announced. 'Don't worry, we'll get faster at this. You feelin' better than yesterday at least?'

He pulled a face, unsure. He did a little, but he couldn't shift a very sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. 'It's just all very … new.'

'I know,' she said gently. 'But you're gonna save Rose and it's gonna be fine. I know I don't say this often but I think you need to 'ear it right now - I know you're gonna sort this one way or the other and I really don't doubt that. You just let me take care of you while you do all your clever alien space things and we'll make 'er proud of us, right sweetheart?'

He nodded, smiling at that. 'Yeah.'

'Good. Right, now where do you wanna be?'

'Need to get everyone together, and outline what we're going to do next,' the Doctor said, putting on his sunglasses and accepting his stick from Jackie. 'They're probably in Torchwood.'

'D'you wanna try and lead?'

'Not yet,' he admitted. 'Just … get me through today.'

'Of course I will,' she said. 'Anythin' you need, you let me know, okay? Now let's get to Torchwood.'

_I'd already be so proud of you, _his subconscious told him in Rose's voice, and in an action he was beginning to get used to, Jackie gently took his arm and together they made their way back out into Torchwood to begin the fight back.

**To be continued ...**

* * *

**A/N: **Done! Definitely more to come, although this time I want to get a bit ahead of myself before I start posting so it might be a little bit until the next one's up. The title of the next one as it stands is 'The Things in the Dark'. There's also a couple of other projects I'm working on as well.

As always, thank you for giving me a little of your day to read this! I'm always continually astounded how much people invest into this series and I'm particularly humbled by those awesomesauce people who take the time to let me know.

Stay safe in this new weird world in which we live!

Laura


End file.
